Against the Light
by frozenseed
Summary: No matter how dark and treacherous the path ahead of them was, as long as they had each other, they would never lose themselves. (Kakashi joined Obito in the dark side)
1. Chapter 1

**I'm not really confident with my English to be honest, but hopefully this story could still be enjoyable.**

 **And I do not own NARUTO.**

* * *

A peaceful and rather cheerful evening once again graced Konohagakure that had just recently recovered from their losses. The nightmare of the Third Shinobi World War had finally ended and their most outstanding hero had been chosen as the new Hokage during the aftermath. Every sane person would not doubt the famous Yellow Flash's capacity to lead the village and most importantly protect them if somehow another war occurred. The ones who knew Minato personally even had faith that with his charisma and talent, any pointless conflicts that always loomed over the Shinobi world could be prevented. However, there were also select few individuals who opposed him, and they had one strong point to question his competency to lead. Because regardless how acceptable the excuses were, how could a man who had 'failed' his students be trusted to protect the well being of one major Shinobi village?

Standing alone in the cemetery was the Yondaime's last remaining student. The young teen had indeed survived the war, but what remained of him was just an empty shell. His one opened eye hadn't moved its soulless gaze away from the recently added tombstone in front of him. The sweet girl he had sworn to protect, but in the end died by his hand was buried in that grave. How was that fair? She was the kindest and most caring person he had ever known, but what did she get in return for the warmness she blessed the world around her with? The memory of her eyes losing their usual brightness as she exhaled her last breath would never leave his mind, tormenting him… just as it should be. His hatred for this unfair world could only be eclipsed by his pure hatred for his own worthless self. In that moment, he seriously contemplated to do what his father did in the end.

"I know how worthless I am. But if you and Obito still consider me as a friend and are still willing to welcome me, I really wish to follow the two of you…" A kunai was at the ready in his right hand, the sharp tip already pierced through his grey vest, and would end his beating heart in any second.

 _CLANG!_

Out of nowhere, a perfectly thrown pebble forced the deadly weapon to fall off the wielder's hand just a split second before it could do its duty.

"Geez, looking back at how popular you were as a kid, I thought you would spend a nice evening like this with a girl or two instead of doing… whatever it is. Seriously Bakashi, has your genius brain finally snapped or something?" A rather familiar figure came out of the shadow following the also familiar voice.

"O-bito? Is that really… you?" The poor boy quickly convinced himself that it was just a hallucination, but deep inside even if it wasn't real, he desperately hoped he could choose it over the reality.

"Oh? You remember that awesome guy? ( _Chuckle)_ I wish I could say that I am still him or maybe I have become even more awesome! ( _Sigh)_ Things changed, Kakashi. I don't even give a damn about who I am anymore." The usual playfulness instantly left the damaged but still familiar face.

"You didn't mean to stop me, did you? I know it. You merely want to bring justice onto me with your own hand. Go ahead Obito. I don't mind - no. I would be grateful." A small sad smile formed under his mask as he faced his long lost friend who had changed his life.

" _(Sigh)_ As what you've most likely suspected already, yes, I know what happened to Rin. I was there, Kakashi. I was late as usual, but I knew you did all you could. It wasn't your fault. In fact, that cruel twist of fate is what finally opened my eyes. Err, I only have one eye, but that's not the point. I saw it as the ultimate prove of how horrific this world is." There was not even the slightest doubt in his mind that his best friend would never intentionally hurt Rin.

"What are you saying? I have no excuse, Obito! She died by my hand… I killed her!" In utter distress, Kakashi frantically picked up the kunai and tried to shove it to the other boy's hand.

"It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. You hear me?!" In a swift movement Obito threw the kunai away and then grabbed the front of his friend's shirt.

"If you say so…" The boy nodded weakly after seeing the pure resolve in his supposedly idiotic teammate's eyes.

"That's better. So, I'm sure you're dying to know how a dying boy who was crushed under a giant boulder could stand here. For now, all I'm going to say is I was saved by a funny white 'alien' who then brought me to a very old and creepy gramps. They took care of me, but most importantly the old man forced me to discard my silly fantasies until I could see the reality with clearer view. Anyway, how about you? Holy shit, you're an ANBU now?! Geez, you make me feel even lamer, you know?!" His childish jealousy toward his rival involuntarily resurfaced as he observed the standard ANBU uniform.

"Yeah, Minato-sensei advised me to join a while ago to help me focus my mind again. It worked, I suppose…" Indeed, during missions he could momentarily escape from the depression, he thought as he stared at his new ANBU mask that had replaced his forehead protector.

"I won't disagree completely, but that sounds not much different than running away in my opinion. We must deal with our self conflicts, Kakashi. No matter how fucked up our life is, we must deal with it. And one day perhaps we could do something with this even more fucked up world too." Somehow, he could see his friend began to possess a deep contempt toward the world, just like him.

"You're right. If only I'm not this pathetic. I wish I had the power to make things right, to… change the world." Too caught up in his self pity, Kakashi didn't notice the other boy's satisfied smile.

"Then join me if you feel that way. Together we can reshape this world, Kakashi. It's gonna be a long way to go, but we're gonna make it no matter what it takes." With unshakable resolve Obito offered his 'right hand' to his friend, waiting for him to make up his mind and take it.

"Don't be silly, Obito. What can I do really? You know how useless I am…" His barely existed self worth was the only thing preventing him from accepting his friend's welcoming hand.

"Gawd, I can't believe this… Looking at your pitiful state now make me miss the stuck up jerk who was like a walking Shinobi rules book." Obito slightly wondered if he could really salvage anything left of his broken friend, but he still believed recruiting him was the right decision.

"( _Chuckle)_ Shut up, idiot. Seriously though, I really want to help you, Obito. Just… tell me what I can do." He was being honest, because the boy in front of him was the one person he trusted the most, even more so than his sensei.

"Just be what you always mean to be, Kakashi. The perfect Shinobi." Right after he said those words, their hands finally met in a strong and actually very monumental handshake.

The two boys didn't waste time before departing from their home village for what might as well be the last time. They had decided to not tell their sensei, since it would surely be very complicated now that he had become a Hokage, a position that forced him to prioritize the village even above his cherished students. With a newfound will and somewhat excitement to move on, Kakashi didn't even bother to take any of his belongings with him, not that he had anything special really. It also helped that Obito's new unique Sharingan ability allowed them to get past the security with super ease. However, since he had only discovered it awhile ago, he was still far from mastering it, so they continued their journey by foot. Along the way, the Uchiha told his friend who had also became his first recruit the details of his story and explained their goal to revolutionize the world.

"It's still hard to believe you really met the legendary Uchiha Madara…" Of course for a boy who used to study anything about ninja world, Kakashi knew quite a lot about the historical figure.

"Regardless how outrageous the Eye of the Moon plan of his is, I admit he made some good points. Though the old man himself was rather pathetic in my opinion. He was just insanely butthurt since his rival always beat him all his life." Yes, he too couldn't help but feeling butthurt every time Kakashi beat him, but at least he saw his defeats as a motivation to get better instead as a reason to avoid his friend.

"You don't like him, or trust him at the very least?" It was rather surprising to him since he thought the Uchiha would've worshiped his great ancestor.

"He had provided me with the much necessary knowledge and facilities, I won't deny that. But somehow I feel like he was just trying to use me as a pawn to fulfill his ambitions. Of course I won't allow that to happen. This grand plan of ours is to save the world, so there's no room for selfish goals." At that moment the boy looked far more mature and wiser than how he was supposed to be.

"I'll trust your judgment. But I think we should keep an eye on Black Zetsu from now on, if you haven't considered that already." Kakashi hadn't met this Zetsu person, but from what he could summarize from Obito's story, the guy was very suspicious.

"Oh right… I'm an idiot. Every time I thought of Zetsu, the first thing that crossed my mind always the silly white one, I almost forgot the creepy black one. Honestly, I don't have that much knowledge about them." Now that he thought about it, the Black Zetsu did seem like a convenience tool for Madara to watch over and manipulate him.

"Well, it's too soon to worry about it, anyway. Speaking of knowledge, is it possible for the eye that you've given to me to also have a similar ability like the one you still possess?" It was a rather uncomfortable subject for Kakashi to discuss since he still felt bad about it, but it was important to know about its potential.

"Of course. In fact, it was actually you who unwillingly awakened ours, Kakashi. If a Sharingan user regardless intentionally or not ends their loved ones' life, their Mangenkyo Sharingan will awaken. I'm sure just like me you would never ever trade Rin's life for these cursed eyes, but what's done is done. And to deny its usefulness is in a sense like disrespecting her sacrifice. At least that's what I've been trying to convince myself." He supposed it would also be plain stupid to disregard such power that could play a significant role in the future.

"You're not wrong. Anyway, I have a feeling that your space manipulation ability is actually your eyes unique trait, instead of the basic ones of the Mangenkyo Sharingan…" He based his suspicion on the fact that there was no record in history about people who could manipulate space, not even Uchihas.

"You're still that smart, aren't you? Okay, there is Tsukuyomi the absolute genjutsu, Amaterasu the black flame thingy, and finally Susanoo the huge battle 'robot'! I'm optimistic that we should be able to use the first two, but as far as I know it's almost impossible to do the last one without a matching pair of eyes." Since he knew the other boy very well, Obito had already anticipated the upcoming response.

"I think I really should return your gift, Obito. It's not like I could use it well enough without being left ridiculously weakened afterwards…" At that moment, he even wished he was a competent medic-nin so he could perform the transplantation right there and then.

"Hey, you dare to doubt my awesomeness, Kakashi? If there is someone who could do the impossible it would be me! Besides, that eye has become yours the moment I gifted it to you. So, be a bit more grateful, would you? I promise we will become the strongest Sharingan users ever!" No matter how much he tried to deny it, the old Obito Uchiha would still live on, thanks to his reunion with his friend.

"Fair enough, and I believe you. But, if somehow there come a time that requires you to use both eyes, it would be my turn to give you a gift." And no matter how laid back he had become, the old Kakashi Hatake would still be there with his stubbornness thanks to the reunion as well.

"Okay okay, but I would first make sure you would get a cool enough replacement before that happened." His mind wandered to the place where the old man stored his disturbing collection of eyes.

"You should prioritize in getting a temporary replacement for your own, instead of just growing your hair longer and use your bangs as covers. It looks kinda cool though, I admit. That hairstyle makes you look a lot less like an idiot." His friend with that kind of hairstyle somehow reminded him of the statue of Madara he had seen once at the Valley of the End.

"Ha ha thanks. You also look a bit less like an asshole with your hair down. Seriously, I cringed every time I pictured you with your old ever standing hair that seemed to have superiority complex or something. I always thought you were trying to compensate for your inferior height compared to me." However, he then noticed that they both were almost at the same height to his annoyance.

"Now I wish I brought my headband with me so you would feel inferior again." Without the headband, he also needed to consciously keep his left eye closed, but he decided to try to open it more often so his body could hopefully adapt to it.

"Trust me you don't want to do that. Girls must've been telling you how attractive you are with your hair down, right? Oops my bad! Their moods must be instantly ruined once they saw your perma-bored look." Till that day he still couldn't understand why girls could be so crazy about Kakashi even after seeing that soul-destroying disinterested look.

"They're all just annoying and childish little girls anyway, never turned me on even one bit. And no, I am not gay." The only girl he could stand being around with was only Rin, because she had always been so understanding and polite.

" _(Gasp)_ I'm really an idiot. Why didn't I figure it out sooner?! You, Kakashi Hatake is actually into older women! Oh my, it all makes sense now. The only time ever you forgot your bored look was that one time when Tsunade-sama bent over you to check on your fractured head." He could still remember Kakashi's disturbingly blissful expression despite his injury as his face was only a few inches away from the Sanin's massive bust.

"It doesn't necessarily mean I'm into older women just because I have a crush on her -" In pure horror, the younger boy immediately covered his masked mouth after realizing his slip up.

"HOLY SHIT, KAKASHI! She's old enough to be your mother, dude! You totally are into older women!" It was getting harder and harder for Obito to maintain his still practiced 'typical Uchiha' persona.

"Your hypothesis is weak, since I've never shown any interest toward Kushina-nee despite how pretty she is." The Uzumaki woman's behavior was even worse than those of little girls' in Kakashi's opinion, and surely many people would agree with him.

"Hah you've never shown it, but you do have a bit interest in her, don't you? You're just afraid to disappoint Minato-sensei since you're his favorite student and shit" Now that he thought about it, his friend always acted not much as a jerk around their sensei's girlfriend despite how annoying she was.

"Another poorly thought assumption won't save your face from your idiotic theory, Obito." To be honest, his desperate denial made him anxious that the idiot could be right.

"How about this then? That one evening I saw you suspiciously 'walking' around Uchiha district. I thought you were just being weird like usual, training your stealth skill with an Uchiha as a target practice. But looking back into it, the Uchiha was a she… ( _Gasp)_ She was Mikoto-san! Kakashi you sick bastard! She's a married woman with a child!" He could just say goodbye to his new persona, at least around his friend as he couldn't hold the gut-wrenching laughs this time.

"Is it so wrong if I find them attractive?! It's not like they would ever take me seriously anyway... At best I would just end up like Jiraiya-sama if I'm lucky to live long enough." The poor boy felt defeated now after his sudden outburst, and could only accept the newfound fact about him.

"I would kill you if you ever show the sign of following that rotten pervert's footstep, don't worry. C'mon cheer up, Kakashi! Trust me, one day you will find the right older woman for you and have many babies with her!" He was actually being serious, because he would do anything to make sure his best friend could find the happiness he desperately deserved.

"I doubt I would ever find one. You see, I have a dream for an attractive - and of course curvy - mature woman with blue hair… No one has blue hair, Obito! I would forever be alone." Kakashi slightly wondered how very out of character he was at that moment, talking about women like a stupid teenage boy.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Kakashi! You will find her in no time. Wait a sec, Mikoto-san's hair has slightly blue tint on it. Is that why you were stalking her?!" The teasing had gone long enough, but he would not let an extremely rare chance of getting his stuck-up friend being silly ended if he could help it.

"Not really, the black hue of her hair is far too dominant. I'm talking about a real blue here." Though he got to admit that the Uchiha woman's hair did look really nice regardless the color.

"Technically everyone can dye their hair blue easily, dude. You just need to ask the girl you like to do that, you know?" Almost automatically, Obito entertained an idea of 'asking' a random prostitute to dye her hair and then seduce his silly friend once they got to their destination.

"It has to be natural, Idiot. I very much prefer completely natural women." The first time he saw Tsunade's breasts, he was so convinced that they were fake, until he ended up 'face to face' with them.

"Geez, you're so picky! I still believe you will find her sooner or later though." It was still hard to believe that his seemingly asexual friend actually had a so detailed preference for women.

"How can you be so optimistic? Just forget about it, it's not like I need a woman in my life anyway." Unfortunately Kakashi began to go back to his aloof self to the mischievous boy's disappointment.

"Hey, let's make a bet! If we meet a blue haired woman once we got to Ame, you have to confess to her in public. If we don't, I'd dress up as a girl and then kiss the fattest dude there." He was so going to carry out his brilliant idea and then watch the greatest phenomenon of the century.

"Very well, you've got a deal." Of course thanks to his genius mind, Kakashi had already suspected his friend's ridiculous plan and figured out a way to blow out the 'evil' woman's cover.

"I can't wait to get to Ame now." Oh, how he wished he had mastered his space manipulation technique.

"We're going to Ame? What are we going to do there?" He had never been there, but he heard the place was ruled by a very powerful Shinobi named Hanzo.

"To further our plan, we're going to recruit the guy who has the Rinnegan and hopefully his cool little gang too." Though admittedly Obito himself had only heard about the organization and the Rinnegan user from Zetsu.

"A gang huh?" Somehow the first image that came to the silly boy's mind was a bunch of burly men and scantily clad women in the alley drinking and smoking.

"Yeah, the Akatsuki. They're all adults from what Zetsu told me, so hopefully you'll find plenty of older women to choose from!" He then wondered if he could bribe one of the ladies to dye her hair blue, so he could watch his friend's ego getting totally destroyed.

"Seriously? Teasing me like silly girls would not make you sound less like a dumbass." Honestly, he still wanted to beat himself up for making that stupid slip up.

"So be it! Oh yeah, Kakashi. Can you not call me Obito in public? People are supposed to think I'm Madara." He didn't like the old man all that much, but he still found the name somewhat cool enough.

"Do you seriously think people would believe a little idiot like you as Madara Uchiha who must be the world's oldest man if somehow he's still alive?" With how clueless his friend could be, Kakashi had no doubt their grand plan would end up becoming a joke if he did it alone.

"What would you call me then, asshole?" Deep inside though, he was actually glad he had decided to recruit his jerk of a friend before doing something even more embarrassing than usual.

"Hmm… How about Tobi?" It was a name he had considered for one of his new ninken, but somehow he found it suited the idiot more.

"Geez, can you be even less creative? The name sounds lame anyway." He would never admit that he just thought about using that very name just before the asshole said it out loud.

"So, Tobi it is then. Let's get going, Tobi. Anyone would surely suspect that you are Obito Uchiha if you are late." At last, Kakashi smirked victoriously as he watched his friend grumblingly marched ahead just like how he used to behave in the past.


	2. Chapter 2

The two friends arrived at the always raining country a bit later than expected because once again they got into a couple more silly arguments along the way. Unsurprisingly another bickering almost occurred again when the idiot sheepishly said he didn't really remember the exact direction. But thankfully since he had become a bit more mature, he quickly suggested to his irritated buddy to spread out. And several hours later, he finally informed the younger boy that he had found the location. Once Kakashi got to the shady looking hideout, he was convinced that what he had imagined about the gang would come true, until they were halt by boring black-robed figures. Disappointed, he decided to stay silent and let his friend do the talking. Eventually the gang's founders came out to meet the two. The bored boy lazily took a glance at the trio, and that was when his irritation reached its peak.

"Seriously, Tobi? Of course since you're an idiot I wouldn't have suspected your idiotic act of 'losing' direction. You just wanted me to stay away so you could set up your pathetic scheme, didn't you!?" He then turned his glare to the newly arrived lady with the 'dyed' hair.

"Wait Kakashi. I wasn't lying! Okay, I did plan something to win the bet, but then I forgot about it too! I swear I didn't meet any prostitutes!" At once, the panicked boy was subjected to dirty stares from the 'gang' members as he said the last words.

"Prepare to dress up, dumbass. Now I will make this 'harlot' learns to not mess up with me." Kakashi casually took a mysterious bottle that he had bought earlier for 'precaution' out of his pocket, and didn't waste time to spill the content at the unsuspecting lady's head.

"You can thank me now, bitch. That will surely get rid of your hideously fake…" The poor boy's mind suddenly went unresponsive for a second before he was overtaken by a pure horror as he noticed that her blue hair didn't change color at all.

"Gods…" Obito was dumbstruck, but it didn't last long as he burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"I though we're supposed to meet 'Madara Uchiha'?" The orange haired leader winced when he noticed the lady's silent fury, and turned his gaze toward his also clueless friend who only shook his head weakly in response.

"Don't forget the deal, Bakashi!" Regaining his breath, the boy determined to not give his poor buddy mercy even though he was also very surprised that they actually did meet a real blue haired woman so soon.

"Uh miss… your hair l-looks nice. I-I like it. And I l-like you too. Y-you look… nice." If his mind already didn't go auto pilot, he would've taken a shuriken and swallow it to end this nightmare.

"Dude… Even I at my lamest period could've done much better than that…" Obito's confidence for his friend's wonderful future was rapidly dropping.

"Go back to your mom, kid. Certainly, she's the only woman who could ever possibly accept you." The lady then turned away with disdain, all the while trying to dry her hair with her sleeve.

"Ouch." Most of them sympathized with the poor boy, no matter how tactless he was.

"Well it was fun, but enough of this. Let's get down to business." The Uchiha's new persona suddenly resurfaced, and at once everyone turned their attention to him, away from his suddenly quite friend.

Noticing the boy's sudden change of demeanor, they all began to suspect that he was not someone to be underestimated. His nearly flawless act of trying to offer support to the organization's goal captured their attention and nearly swayed the Rinnegan user Nagato. However, their leader Yahiko was somehow still wary of the mysterious boys, and in the end declined the offer. The other members didn't question the decision, since they - especially his two childhood friends - trust him more than anyone else. For a moment, Tobi with his eerie white mask just faced them stoically. Whether he was disappointed or even angry, they couldn't tell. Soon after that, he signaled his still silent friend that it was time to leave, but not before claiming that leader would eventually agreed. The Akatsuki's suspicion of the boy's power was then confirmed as they watched how the two boys disappeared from their sight.

* * *

"Stop looking so pitiful, Kakashi! You got humiliated and rejected, so what? Rin always rejected me, but I never gave up! I would never give up for her... Oh Rin..." His brash effort to cheer up his buddy ended up dramatically with him joining in the self-pity atmosphere.

"At least Rin was always so kind and considerate, but that lady… She was so mean, Obito!" The poor boy had never imagined one day his ego would get destroyed so cruelly like that.

"You're the one who was recklessly being rude to her to begin with. Cheer up already! You will find another blue haired older girl eventually, don't worry!" With a great willpower, Obito pulled himself away from the unproductive activity.

"But still, strangely I feel like… to me she might be like... what Rin is to you." Right then Kakashi dreadfully realized that he had a good chance of following his friend into the life of unrequited love.

"That's why we must focus in our goal, Kakashi! We fight to create a world where people like us can get the life we deserve." His resolve strengthened as he watched the depressed boy's eyes hardened with a resolve that almost rivaled his own.

"Agreed. So, the Akatsuki declined our sincere offer, but you don't look so bothered with that. I assume you already have a backup plan?" He was sure the old Obito would never have any backup plan even if his life depended on it, but he still couldn't tell with this Tobi.

"Of course I… Uh… yeah I... he he." Some people would just never change completely, it seemed.

" _(Sigh)_ Give me a second. Hmm... Alright, recently I happened to eavesdrop that Danzo Shimura was planning a 'vacation' to Ame. I'd say we figure out his intention and then take advantage of it to make an ideal scenario to succeed our agenda." Spying on the rotten veteran was actually one of his first personal and unofficial mission once he entered ANBU.

"Danzo who? Wait wait just kidding, dude! Let's see… Danzo is an old man, so obviously he's going here to meet a fellow old man, Hanzo! Whoa Danzo and Hanzo, are they related or something?" Since he had never seen Hanzo, his silly assumption didn't sound that lame.

"Why am I not surprised to hear your stupid theory? It kind of makes sense though. Let's get going then." He had accepted that his friend's simplicity was one of the things that made him formidable.

Again thanks to Kamui, it was ridiculously easy to infiltrate Hanzo's tower. They also didn't need to wait that long to witness the supposedly secret meeting between the old men. Just to their luck, the discussion was about a conspiracy to take down the Akatsuki. The dark side of Tobi's mind immediately began to form a scenario where Nagato would be forced to experienced a real despair so he could see the world the way the two boys did. As for Kakashi, he was certain that the old men would unintentionally help them complete their agenda. They'd just need to make sure there wouldn't be unnecessary interventions, and everything would go smoothly like it was destined to be. Though deep inside, their innocent children sides still wished it wouldn't require sacrifices.

* * *

The fateful day came faster than expected, and the two boys with their hardened resolve watched over the sad but necessary event taking place from afar. Just a few moments ago, they had successfully incapacitated the Akatsuki reinforcements without a problem. It was then the time for them to witness another unfair tragedy just like what they had already experienced unfolded before them. Though no matter how far they had matured, their hearts still screamed for them to abandon their plan and go help the three young adults. And once they saw Yahiko calmly sacrificed his own life for the woman he loved, their innocents at last died completely. However, things went out of control when the enraged Rinnegan user hunted down and battled Hanzo and his guards recklessly. The old man had long become a mere shadow of his grand reputation in his prime, and Nagato did succeed in his revenge. But at the cost of his own life...

"Goddammit!" Obito couldn't believe their plan had failed at the very last moment. Even though the two of them had tried hard to stop Nagato, they were still outclassed by the two powerful ninjas.

"We messed up, Obito! If we stepped in earlier, two good persons wouldn't have died pointlessly!" Ignoring his battered body and bloodied left eye, Kakashi still tried desperately to heal the lifeless Nagato's injury with his pitiful healing skill.

"Being a guilt ridden regretful bastard is not as cool as you think, Kakashi! In fact, it won't even change a damn thing! You know very well we did what we must!"Consumed by fury, the Uchiha instinctively set the other corpses in black flames of Amaterasu.

"That doesn't change the fact that we got them killed! I should've come out with a better idea and warned them about the trap!" Clouded by regret, the younger boy was unable to think clearly, and didn't notice a newcomer who just heard what she shouldn't have known.

"You knew what was going to happen… and yet you did 'nothing'?" Konan awkwardly leaned Yahiko's lifeless form on her side after with much struggle getting the both of them to the battlefield.

"We are so sorry… We foolishly never thought it would end up so out of control." Kakashi didn't dare to look at her in the face, but he could guess how it looked at that moment, heartbreakingly hollow.

"Leave. Don't ever show up here again or I'll kill you." She had fallen into a state beyond grief, and all she felt was eclipsed by a deep contempt toward the two boys and the world lived in.

"It's not that simple, lady! As you must've already seen by now, this world is full of shit! We want to change it, but we need a Rinnegan user to progress further." He'd be damned if he let personal pain, no matter how deep it was, got in the way of a much bigger purpose.

"Let's go, Tobi. We'll find a way. Trust me." Honestly he also felt lost, but he absolutely refused to let that last remaining member of the Akatsuki be harmed in anyway, because somehow he had come to care for her so.

After taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, the Uchiha walked away following his friend. His frustration would never make him doubt the only person he trusted in this whole blasted world. If Kakashi didn't stop him earlier, he would've just ripped off the stupid eyes from Nagato's corpse and then asked Zetsu to transplant one onto him or something. They were actually originated from the old man Madara anyway, so as his successor they should technically be passed on to him. Then again, he still realized it would be impossible to do everything on his own. Like it or not, he needed allies. Thankfully though, he didn't have to put his trust in anyone else other than best friend. It would be more than enough to make things worked just by making peole trust him or at least Kakashi, regardless the methods. He only hoped the trust between the two of them would never change no matter what might come in the future.

* * *

A while later, their leisure walk led them to a small bridge just outside of the town. Seeing how rather deserted the place was, they decided to get some rest and tend to their wounds. Still, no word was spoken between them since they were too absorbed in their own thoughts regarding the day's event. Obito was the first to break the silence by using a strange technique to contact Zetsu and ask them to come there. Eventually, Kakashi took a side glance at his friend, and raised his eyebrows in amusement each time he heard the idiot demanded his ally to bring foods, money, and some other ridiculous things. The 'entertainment' didn't last long though, and he continued patching his body while his mind strayed away to wonder about the blue haired lady. He couldn't help but to feel so helpless after once again failing the one he cared about ,and even worse, it was somewhat intentionally.

"It was because of her, wasn't it? ( _Chuckle)_ We are actually not that different, Kakashi." With a much clearer head, he could then realized the main reason behind his friend's previously determined act.

"What are you talking about?" Even though rather clueless, he was glad that Obito had cooled off a bit.

"You stopped me because you didn't want me to accidentally hurt her, did you? Admit it. You've fallen for that Konan lady the first time you met her, just like I did with Rin!" He didn't seriously think that kind of lame assumption was enough to prove that the two of them was similar, right?

"… I would also have to endure unrequited feelings like you did then…" Unfortunately, the younger boy was pitiful enough to buy his friend's silly words.

"Sorry dude. I am sure Rin would've return my feelings eventually, so you'd be alone on than one." In his mind, he prayed that in whatever realm she rested in, the girl would agree with him.

"Geez, thank you for the kind words... I don't disagree though. Rin definitely would've realized that even a real idiot like you is still salvageable." What he actually meant was she would've realized how great Obito was.

"Sorry sorry, just kidding! Okay now, what's next?" There was no doubt in his mind that his buddy would come out with another brilliant idea in no time.

"I'm going to apologize to her again, and try to persuade her to at least understand what we're fighting for." That was a rather underwhelming plan coming from someone who was supposedly an ANBU prodigy.

"You're going alone then? _(Sigh)_ Okay, I respect your decision. I know you can do it, Kakashi. Go get your bitch and show her who the boss is!" And again the moment was ruined by his unpredictable idiocy…

"Why do I have a feeling I would later end up even worse than Jiraiya-sama getting wrecked by Lady Tsunade…" That is if somehow he could get back at all.

* * *

Obviously, the first thing Kakashi did was going back to the Akatsuki's hideout, but he found no one there. The place was abandoned and there was no sign of the lady he was looking for coming back there after the incident. Staying calm, he walked outside and then tried to use his sensory ability to track her down. It would've been far easier if he had previously taken a hair or something from her so he could use the scent to give his ninken direction. Still, the years he had spent training his sensory skill paid off minutes later as he felt her presence somewhere not far away from Ame. Despite his natural worry for his wellbeing, he didn't waste any time to march toward the direction. Not long after, he arrived near a hut in the middle of a wide open area that looked kind of homey.

Suddenly, time seemed to stop as he felt an ominous presence behind him. A tired smile that was so out of place formed behind his mask just a second before he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Pain erupted in his chest, caused by a sword that had pierced his lung from behind. He then stumbled forward as the sharp weapon was being jerked roughly out of his back. But it didn't end there. A hard kick to the side of his head made him blacked out for a second before he retained his bearings with much difficulty, and tried to face the assaulter. Another pain that was even worse than the one on his chest hit him violently as his blurry gaze found her face. Numerous times he had worn that look, and felt what she must've been feeling at that moment. However, somehow the feeling of putting the one he cared about into that awful state was even worse than experiencing it himself.

"I've warned you." The tip of the blade grazed his neck, drawing out blood, as she prepared to finish her 'revenge'.

"Please, do it. You have every right to do it. If my death could at least bring you a sense of closure, I would feel relieved. I just wish to apologize for the last time." At least he could 'do' something for her in the end, no matter how pathetic it was.

"You're nothing but a rude kid. What do you know about death?!" Somehow, her cold resolve began to falter as she saw the sincere and calm look on his face - upper part of it at least.

"Not much. My mother had gone before I could even remember. My father decided I'd better live as an orphan a long time ago. My dear friend chose to let out her last breath with my hand pierced through her chest. Recently, two good persons died thanks to my ignorance. There were more I guess… But hey, at least Tobi had come back from his heroic 'death'." His hard training to endure pain were the reason he could still think and talk that well despite his serious injuries.

"You must be lying… A little punk like you couldn't have possibly lived through such things. Who are you?!" She still refused to accept her heart telling her how terribly remorseful the boy was.

"Kakashi Hatake, the shitty luck specialist. Nice to meet you… Miss Konan." In amusement, he wondered how come he couldn't talk that comfortably with her earlier when he wasn't about to die?

" _(Sigh)_ Yahiko and Nagato wouldn't have let me take a child's life… no matter how much I hate him." Deep inside though, somehow she was rather intrigued by the boy, and wished to know the truth from his mouth.

"It really hurts. Being hated that is... especially by you. But I deserve it, of course." The emotional toll had become too much for him to bear, and triggered his body to automatically let go its 'endure pain' mode.

"Come inside. You have a strong body, being able to endure such wounds. But the last thing I need now is feeling bad for letting it give out before I can get what I want from you." Convincing herself that she only did it because she wanted some answers, she silently led him into her childhood home.

"Again I am very sorry, Miss Konan… If I could trade my worthless life to bring them back, I would gladly do it." He felt devastated again once he entered the hut and caught a glimpse of two lifeless forms covered by white fabrics laying at the back room.

"I have no use for your apologies. All I want is to finish with you quickly and get this over with already. Now get to the bed and take off your shirt, boy." She just planned to fix his wound so it wouldn't be life-threatening anymore, get him to talk, and then kick him out of here as soon as possible.

Time seemed to stop as the boy stood frozen in his spot. His brilliant but dirty mind began to conjure various images of what the lady could possibly planned to do with him based on what she just said.

"Whoa, wait a sec! As you said before, I'm still a kid! Don't get me wrong. I do want you, very much so! But I'm not ready to go this far yet, even though I'm a big fan of Jiraiya-sama's books." Icha-Icha had unfortunately never featured a boy his age being thrown into this kind of compromising situation!

"You know Jiraiya-sensei?! No wonder your mind is almost as dirty as his. Just do what I ask so I can treat you properly!" Feeling her patience running out, she forcefully tore off his ANBU vest and the black form-fitting shirt under it along with his mask.

"Please stop, Miss! We don't want to do something we'd regret later, do we?!" In an uncharacteristic panic, he used his hands that he'd been using to hold off the bleeding on his chest to cover his bare face.

"No need to cover your mouth! I have no desire to ever come close to it. Seriously, stop being ridiculous. You want me to heal you or not?" Her hands glow green with healing chakra as she began to use them to close the puncture.

"Wait.. heal me? I thought you think it'd be a waste if my body died out before you could savor it..." He could feel his face reddened because he was so embarrassed, but somehow he also felt kinda disappointed.

"How could you think of such dirty things when you're about to die?! Ugh, you're so disgusting, you know that? It wouldn't surprise me if you're actually related to that Jiraiya-sensei." She shuddered to think of what the kid would become once he become an adult.

"Jiraiya-sama is my sensei's sensei. He once told me if I tried hard enough, one day I might become as great and nearly as perverted as him. Wait, you called him sensei?" There was no way she had once been Minato-sensei's teammate because she looked no more than five years older than him.

"There's no harm to tell you this, I guess. During the Second Shinobi World War, he and his teammates came across the three of us. Nagato, Yahiko, and I were just poor homeless orphans, but he took pity on us. He gave us food and even went against his friends warning by decided to train us. In this small hut, we spent a few years learning about ninja skills and wisdom from him until he deemed us capable to survive on our own. Then the day came for him to return to his village, and we've never seen him again since then. I wonder how he would react if he found out two of his former students got killed by his grand students." She noticed the boy winced as she said the last sentence, and surprisingly she somewhat felt bad about it.

"Believe it or not I understand what you feel, Miss Konan. I have felt them before, the helplessness, the bitterness, the anger, the sorrow, the despair, and the emptiness. For some times, I regretted that I could still open my eyes every morning, and every breath I took was filled with painful guilt. Until one fateful evening, a supposedly gone friend who once had opened my eyes approached me to once again show me the way. I've found someone whom I could put my trust in, so I could keep going with my life. Now I know I have no right to ask you anything, but I think just like me, you need to find someone you could put your trust again…" He also knew he was nothing but a foolish kid, but he desperately still wanted to bring the light into the pretty lady's eyes again.

"I will put my trust in you then." She surprised both of them with her spontaneous response.

"M-Me? That easily? No way. There must be a catch." He always prepared for the worse in every scenario.

"It requires one? _(Sigh)_ Alright then, I want you to show me your face." She reminded herself that he was still just a silly boy no matter how strange he was.

"Fair enough I guess…" And Kakashi Hatake showed his face to other person for the first time since -

"What the hell?! Can't you two wait at least until Bakashi got a bit bigger?!" When he decided to find his buddy, the idiot never imagined he would find him half-naked in bed with his crush.


	3. Chapter 3

After Konan finished with Kakashi's wounds and the misunderstanding was solved, the three took a rest outside in silent. Obito's giddy look caused by finally having a chance to see his friend's face couldn't even be hidden by his white mask. The said friend on the other hand had been lost in a dreamland where he was back to the moment he showed his face again, but what happened next was the pretty lady gazed at him shyly and then pressed her lips to his… Alas the two boys' joyful moments came to an end when the said lady couldn't stand the silly atmosphere any longer and demanded them to explain their true motives and goals. The silver haired boy assured his friend that they could trust her, and the next few moments was spent with retelling, explaining, and a bit of arguing. In the end though, to the boys' relief the lady had agreed to cooperate and even join their cause.

"I have decided. I will return your gift Obito, so you'll be able to call the Susanoo. I also wish to borrow one of the Rinnegan. Hopefully I will be able to perform Rinne Tensei to bring back Nagato, Yahiko, and of course Rin." He remembered their conversation during their travel about the legendary Dojutsu's abilities.

"You're kidding, right? Sorry, that's not even funny. As much as I wish to see Rin again, I'd be damned if I sacrifice my best friend's life for a personal wish!" Because it had become his personal mission to give his friend a great future no matter the cost.

"I still believe you deserve to feel guilty, but that is not the way to redeem your sin. Yahiko and Nagato have gone to a far better place than this one. It'd be so selfish of me to want them here again." Honestly though, she was rather shocked by the boy's willingness to sacrifice his life for his friend's and her sake.

"I've never thought you could be this stupid, Kakashi. Why don't we just find some random hobo, transplant an eye to them, and then use a genjutsu to make them perform Rinne Tensei? Wait, hey! How come I've never come up with this idea before?!" Obito's joy reached a whole new level at the prospect of seeing Rin again, and nothing could stop him from completing his newest plan.

"He looks even more stupid than usual…" "I've never thought it is possible." The sudden newcomer couldn't help but face-palmed as they saw the giddy Uchiha jumping around with his hands up.

"Zetsu! You're late! Do you bring the foods?! Oops, I almost forgot. Guys, that funny alien is Zetsu. Zetsu, this ever bored boy here is my buddy Kakashi, and the older girl beside him is his new girlfriend Konan!" And a split second later, Kamui saved the idiot's life by letting three perfectly aimed shuriken flew through his empty head harmlessly.

"I would sooner give up being a woman before I found myself dating this disgusting brat." She quickly pushed the heartbroken boy away in disgust.

"Hey, that's so mean, lady! Mark my words. A few years from now when Bakashi has grown up, you'll be swooning over him and begging to have his babies!" He couldn't understand why his friend was all over this mean blue haired lady from hell, but he could tell a true love when he saw one.

" _(Sigh)_ We should've known that he called us here just to watch his stupidity again…" "He'd never change." Zetsu decided to just leave after putting down a large box of instant meals on the ground.

"Wait Zetsu, don't leave yet! Can you bring me a random old hobo - preferably a crazy one - before you leave, please?" He couldn't do it himself because felt obligated to stay by his depressed friend's side to cheer him up.

"A crazy boy wants us to bring him a crazy old man…" Nevertheless they obeyed the stupid request and disappeared into the ground to find the poor prey.

* * *

It took several hours before Zetsu came back carrying an unconscious very old gramps who without a doubt looked like a hobo. It was then confirmed that the gramps had gone totally senile so they barely felt bad as Zetsu transplanted the right Rinnegan to him. Meanwhile, Tobi activated his Mangenkyo Sharingan to prepare a genjutsu that he had never performed before. They waited for another few hours for the 'subject' to be conscious again. During that time, to their surprises, Konan expressed her wish to just let her deceased friends rest in peace, far away from this cruel world. The boys could understand her reasoning because they had also more than once wished to just get away from their shitty world. Still, the two of them agreed to continue the attempt to give Rin a second chance to live a happy life again, because they could never forget how much she cherished lives.

"Gedo - Rinne Tensei no Jutsu." As soon as the unknown gramps uttered those words, he passed away peacefully.

"Did it work?" Obito stared dumbly at the outrageous giant 'head' that suddenly appeared not far away from them, spitted a green beam of light out of its mouth, and then disappeared again like it had never been there.

"Hopefully. Hey, look! I think the Rinnegan is damaged…" Kakashi pointed at the eye that had turned color into dull white with several cracks on its surface.

"OH SHIT! The host's life force must've been far too weak to support its power. Dammit, I should've asked Zetsu to bring a healthier one!" He then anxiously wondered if the jutsu still succeeded.

"Calm down. We still have one. And if Miss Konan permitted me to borrow it, I'm willing to become its new host. It should be safe with me" Kakashi knew she had said her willingness to cooperate, but she also disliked him...

"Nagato would've given up everything he had for the greater good. _(Sigh)_ Just don't make me regret putting my trust in you, boy." She still wondered how she could decide something like that so easily, but it was far too late to turn back.

"Thank you. I will not disappoint you. So Obito, I guess it really is the time to return your gift. You'd better be a badass and summon your Susanoo as soon as possible." A deep sense of gratitude could be seen in Kakashi's eyes as the two friends locked gazes.

"Believe me, Kakashi. I'm going to build the biggest and coolest Susanoo ever! And we will still always be connected to each other, brother. That will never chance even after we no longer possess the same eyes." He then pulled his friend/brother into a tight hug before they let Zetsu perform the surgery.

This time the procedure took longer because it had to be done flawlessly to prevent any complications in the future. Returning Obito's left Sharingan was rather easy enough, just like putting back a missing piece of puzzle. Transplanting the Rinnegan to Kakashi on the other hand took extra effort and carefulness for obvious reason. Thankfully, the boy had a very fit and strong enough body to support the legendary Dojutsu even though he wasn't a direct descendant of the original Rinnegan user. He still needed to train very hard though to be able to access its full potential and also grow his own potential. Zetsu also suggested him to study more about the eye before they took their leave to continue whatever they had been doing in the mountain graveyard. And after Obito burnt the old hobo's corpse, the three of them went back to sit on the grass once again.

* * *

"I can already guess what people might call us in the future. Rinnegan no Kakashi! And…Tobi the Great Orange Susanoo's Pilot!" In his silly mind, the idiot imagined a handsome older version of himself entering the 'cockpit' of a towering orange robot just like what he used to watch in a certain TV series.

"Interesting… How do you know it will be orange though?" He would never admit it, but he remembered he had watched some episodes of the show in the past, and he had to admit the 'robots' looked kind of cool.

"I'm gonna paint it orange, of course. Imagine this Kakashi. In the middle of a battle, my awesome shiny Susanoo heroically shot a laser beam with a giant canon at a mean Biju's ass!" He then excitedly picked up a broom from a nearby wall to show his friend how his robot would fire the canon.

"Whoa… It would be totally awesome if it could fly too, don't you think?" Even though he could feel his brain cells dying out one by one as he partook in this stupid talk, he didn't mind as long as he could see his precious friend acting like a silly kid again just like in the past.

" _(Sigh)_ I'll leave you kids playing. Just don't make a mess." The young woman couldn't believe she had actually made a pact for world revolution with kids who still liked to talk about robots.

"Where are you going, Miss Konan?" Still concerned about her fragile emotion, Kakashi reluctantly ended his good time with his friend.

"I'm going to prepare Yahiko and Nagato's graves in the backyard." Internally, she berated herself for almost forgetting to give her dear friends proper burials and a final goodbye.

"Kakashi wants to help you, lady!" The idiot then moved closer to his buddy. "Psst Bakashi, use this opportunity to impress and woo your lady." Sadly, he didn't realize that his version of whisper was as loud as normal people's talk.

"I guess I could practice what I've read from Icha-Icha… The is no girl like her in the books though." He could only recall that the female characters mostly resembled Lady Tsunade.

"I can hear that, you know? Stop wasting my time. If you want to help, follow me. If not, go dig your own grave." On the way, she spared the time to think of some ideas to break the weird boy's heart permanently.

To Konan's surprise, Kakashi was quite capable with earth style techniques that made the digging process much easier. During his work, the boy was quite and very focused on his job like a professional Shinobi he actually was. His strength was also remarkable as he without her help carried her deceased friends' bodies outside. All in all, she didn't break a sweat, only watching and giving him instructions every now and then as if he were her servant or something. She couldn't help but be suspicious that it was his attempt of impress or woo her like what his annoying friend told him to do. For the moment, she didn't care about it that much though, because it was finally the time to say her last goodbye to the two most precious persons in her life. Tears fell unconsciously from her eyes as she gave the boy permission/instruction to bury them in their final resting places.

"My heart has gone with the two of them, so don't waste your life chasing after it. To me, you are nothing more than a tool that I've somehow decided to trust, and that will never change." She hoped it was enough to end his every single fantasy about her, and he would find another girl his age.

"Understood." Nevertheless, he still hoped one day he could bring back the smile to her beautiful face.

"And I'd prefer it if you never talk to me, or approach me for that matter, unless necessary." Deep inside, a tiny part of her actually felt bad for him, fully aware that he was basically just a young teenage boy who just started to have a crush on girls.

"As you wish." At least she didn't forbid him from looking at her, to his small relief.

* * *

When the two returned, the Uchiha had already switched from his silly persona into the new serious and dark one. Not wasting much time, he started the discussion concerning their priorities and objectives for the near future. The two boys' parts in the next few years were to blend in the shadows and infiltrate the major hidden villages to gain significant influences there. Meanwhile, the lady's part was to establish the foothold for their planned Akatsuki's revival there in Ame. Zetsu who were not present would later be informed by Tobi about their part as the surveyor for possible recruits. They were going to stay in contact with each other periodically to share about their progresses and any important information. And as the one who could manipulate space, the Uchiha was going to be the one to assist if any of the others got into a serious trouble.

"Iwa? Are you sure you don't want to choose Konoha, Obito?" Before he heard the unexpected decision, Kakashi was almost sure his friend would choose their home village as his objective for obvious reason.

"I'm dying to see her, Kakashi. I'm also confident that she wouldn't see me differently, but I'm just… not ready. I think it would be more ideal if you're the one who go to Konoha. That way, you could also check on her for me. They most likely wouldn't be suspicious since you haven't gone that long." If he went to see her himself, he was afraid he couldn't hold back from holding her tight and babbling about everything, including their secrets, to her.

"Okay. Thankfully, Minato-sensei has become the Hokage. He wouldn't let anyone putting her into unnecessary problems just for being back to life." Obviously their sensei would be shocked, but Kakashi was sure it wouldn't be enough to distract him from the joy of seeing his student again.

"You can tell her about me I guess... or not... preferably not. I'm not sure. I'll just trust you on this one." Though in his mind, he fantasized he could meet Rin again in a surprising and dramatic scene like in the movies.

"Got it. So... this is it. It is great to see you again, Obito. Show me an awesome Susanoo the next time we meet again. See you next time." It was really hard to say goodbye after being reunited with his best friend again, something he had never dreamed possible.

"Sure thing! Oh yea, learn more from the perverted sage if you got to meet him, Bakashi. I'm sure he can teach you some neat techniques to tame this mean lady here." Kamui saved the idiot's life once again by warping his form completely away from there, this time to avoid two kunai.

"I wish for this Rin girl's sanity, she couldn't remember that annoying idiot." Just as the lady was about to get inside, she noticed a warm gaze directed at her.

"Miss Konan, it has been my biggest pleasure to have ever met you. Please, take care." Silently, the silver haired boy took his leave too after giving her a respectful bow, not expecting a reply from her.

"You too…" Against her cold resolve, she couldn't stop her gaze from wandering, to catch the last few glimpses of the boy she so disliked but was very intrigued with, before he disappeared from her view.

* * *

On his long way back to his home village, Kakashi spent days pondering about his deep affection toward the cold lady that was hard to explain. Just like what he had told his friend, he had indeed dreamed of a blue haired older woman, but it had been nothing more than a silly teenage boy fantasy of his. To his surprise, what he felt for her was not merely caused by her admittedly beautiful physical appearance. After the embarrassing incident in their first meeting, he always felt like he was willing to do anything to please her whenever she was around. Sadly, it seemed like the best way to do that was by keeping his distance from her, just as she had asked of him. He knew he deserved all of her contempt though, because all he had done for her since they met were almost unforgivable. However, he couldn't help but to wonder if she disliked him that much, why did she put her trust in him without even a second thought?

"There you are Kakashi my eternal rival! Your sudden mysterious departure had left a deep scar on Konoha's springtime of youth! And now to rejoice our destined reunion, I shall challenge you to see which one of us, two Konoha's most youthful ninjas, could bring the loveliest maiden as our partner to the union celebration of two Konoha's very symbols of youth!" The still far from famous Green Beast of Konoha had reached a new level of excitement for the upcoming wedding of their Hokage.

"Huh? Oh, you. Sorry, I didn't see you there." Still deep in thought about his miserable love life, the said eternal rival had been keeping his body in auto pilot to direct him toward the village's gate.

"How - how could you not notice my stunning green figure, Kakashi?! You have wound so deeply, but don't fret, my eternal rival! My endless youthfulness would not allow me to hold a grudge against you! It is my responsibility to save you from your lack of burning passion! So behold, Maito Gai will give you the news that will cure your suffering! Konoha's sweetest blossom that we had tragically lost has been given a second chance to live her most youthful life again. Our Rin has come back to life, Kakashi!" He was actually clueless about the details, but to him, her return was the brightest light in the darkness that had engulfed almost all Third Shinobi World War veterans.

"Rin? You're serious, Gai? Bring me to her!" He inwardly thanked his self proclaimed rival for snapping his mind back to his number one priority.

Thankfully, Gai understood the situation, and nodded seriously in return before leading him to the direction of Konoha's hospital. As they swiftly ran through the rooftops, Kakashi berated himself as a professional ninja for losing his main objective even just temporarily. All it took was only a woman who in fact didn't like him at all to take his highly trained mind from something so important. He needed to accept the prospect of living a life of unrequited love just like Jiraiya did as soon as possible, and be done with it. With all the upcoming world-changing events they had planned for the future, he couldn't afford to lose concentration at all. It was actually quite simple, since all he needed to do was going back to how he used to be after his father died. Just as what his friend already said in the beginning, he needed to become what he a;ways meant to be, the perfect Shinobi.

* * *

As the two 'rivals' stepped near the designated hospital room, they found their new Hokage waiting there.

"Kakashi?! Where have you been? We were so worried, you know?" Minato hurriedly grabbed his student's shoulders as soon as he saw the boy.

"Ah Minato-sensei, I'm sorry. You see, I embarked in an exciting adventure with my imaginary friend to a far away land, and met a beautiful angel there. I couldn't help but to be captured by her beauty, and before I knew it I already lost a sense of time." He had putted more 'effort' into his bullshit excuse this time, because he couldn't wait to see his dear friend again.

The other two could only stared at the usually aloof boy in utter bewilderment, but they both felt that it wasn't a good idea to question a talkative Kakashi.

"Uh good for you? And no worries, you do need to loosen up once in awhile. Anyway, I presume Gai-kun has told you the wonderful news? Honestly, I don't really care how it happened. What truly matter is our Rin has come back to us now. And I promise I will never fail her again!" He was so grateful, considering that just a few days ago he had lost all of his students, but then miracle came just before his wedding day.

"Please, let me see her, sensei." As technically Rin's 'killer', he actually felt so anxious inside, and could only hope that she would forgive him.

"I guess Tsunade-sama could give an exception for her only teammate…" The man shuddered as he remembered the poor victims he'd had to save from her wrath for interrupting her work.

"As I said from the beginning, it has nothing to do with Edo Tensei, Minato! I know Nidaime's forbidden jutsu well enough to tell this girl is as alive as she has never died before!" The fearsome Sanin stepped out of the room and glared at the poor Hokage just as he brave himself to step in.

"Forgive me, Tsunade-sama. I was so wrong. I am so sorry for questioning your judgement. Now, Kakashi here wishes to see our sweet Rin. Could you please let him in?" He had to admit that even his angry fiancée was not as scary as Tsunade, not even close.

"He's her teammate, yes? _(Sigh)_ Fine. But that weird green one beside him has to stay outside!" Even her normal glare could easily dissipate the Green Beast's unparalleled youth.

"Thank you…" But it was more like the boy was thanking her breasts, as he couldn't stop staring longingly at the glorious pair.

"Oh God, Minato! It's a miracle you're not also a pervert, seeing both your teacher and your student are super perverts!" If she didn't know better she would've thought the boy was Jiraiya's spawn, since she knew very well that Sakumo was one of the most honorable men she had ever known.

"I have Kushina to thank for that, I suppose…" With his girlfriend and her fiery temper always around, he never had a chance to be a pervert no matter how tempting it had been sometimes.

"Forgive me, Lady Tsunade. I couldn't help it. They look so juicy - oh no, it's a compliment by the way - oh shit. _(Sigh)_ I should just go in now if you'll excuse me." It was actually more like 'if you'll let me live' and thankfully, she just rolled her eyes and stepped aside.

"Ka... kashi?" Rin who had been in a seriously confused state wasn't ready to meet her teammate.

"Rin… You're really here. I am so sorry for what I did to you." Suddenly the boy rushed toward the girl before falling to his knees near her bed.

"NO, Kakashi! I am the one who should apologize to you! I was so selfish, putting you into such a horrific situation with no choice. I can't even imagine how sad and hurt you have been. During my stay in the pure world, all I wished were meeting Obito again and getting a chance to apologize to you. I don't know how I got back to life, but I'm grateful at least one of my wishes has come true." Still in a slight dizziness, she got up from her bed to help him stand up.

"We're so grateful to have you here again, Rin. I know Obito - wherever he is now - always wished for you to get another chance to live a bright future you so deserve." He actually wanted to tell her that her other wish could seriously became reality, but he held himself back as he realized their sensei and Lady Tsunade were still nearby.

"If only Obito could be with us again too… He was the one who had a big dream for the future, unlike me who's just a random nobody..." In her mind, she was determined if somehow she could meet him again, she would try her best to return his sincere feelings.

"Don't say that, Rin. You're so precious, especially to Obito. And he never dies, as long as we still believe in him." In the end, he decided to just give her a ray of hope, because he deemed it would be best if his two dear friends be reunited together without any interventions, even from him.


	4. Chapter 4

The joyful day that didn't feel that exciting for a lazy person like Kakashi Hatake finally came to Konohagakure. Surprisingly this time, such a grand occasion that was the wedding of a Kage appeared to be rather modest, compared even to that of mere civilians. For security reasons, they even tried to make it as private and secretive as possible. Of course, friends and relatives were still present. And it was only proper to also invite the village elders and clan heads. All in all, it was still a very warm and lively occasion, something that they rarely experienced because of their tough professions. The only thing that dampened the mood in that happy day was just the young Hokage's insistent to wait for a certain student of his to come before starting the ceremony, even though it was already more than one hour passed the scheduled time.

"Maybe you shouldn't have challenge him to find a girl to come with him, Gai. Kakashi is never late before..." Rin of course would have been happy to accompany her teammate, if only she had the heart to refuse Gai's overdramatic begging to come with him.

"You think too highly of Kakashi, Rin. It's not only because of the stupid bet. I swear, that kid has somehow absorbed poor Obito's bad habits dattebane!" The bride's face had gone nearly as red as her hair from anger.

Soon later, with the audacity to wear his ANBU uniform like usual, the source of everyone's irritation coolly waltzed into the hall like he owned the place.

"Yo." Seeing everyone's glare as the only response to his greeting, the silver haired boy just just shrugged innocently in return.

"My eternal rival! Not only you have tarnished this youthful occasion with your late arrival, you also don't even bother to honor our latest challenge?!" The Green Beast had never felt so insulted as he watched his rival who was instead of bringing a nice girl, he was being trailed by his equally bored looking pug.

"Really, bushy eyebrows?! You're dumber than your look if you expect Kakashi to have enough charm to attract ladies instead of just perving on them. I bet he would never get married, unlike me and Minato." To Kushina, at least by making fun of the irritating boy, her anger could lessen a bit.

"Sorry, I'm late. I didn't have enough charm to ask a girl to guide me here." His bored look turned into a biter one as he reflected on his pathetic love life.

"Hey just kidding, kid! In fact, if somehow you and Minato got age-swapped, I wouldn't mind marrying you dattebane!" It's hard to believe, but her ridiculous attempt to cheer up the boy kind of worked as she saw him blushed slightly.

"Kushinaa..." The Yondaime's comically crestfallen look was somehow effective enough to make everyone forget their annoyance.

Since it was already passed the schedule, the main ceremony that was intended to be simple needed to be made even simpler than planned. Kakashi honestly felt pretty guilty about it, but on the other hand, he couldn't help feeling relieved that he didn't have to endure the boredom for too long. It also helped a big deal that his number one idol the legendary Jiraiya himself had forced him to sit right next to him. The 'exciting' stories of the toad Sage's research around the world for his masterpieces had never failed to awed the boy. Somehow, the day had become much better for the two perverts as they enthusiastically talked about the older man's next project. So absorbed in their 'serious' discussion, they didn't even aware that their voices had become far louder than necessary. It was getting harder and harder for everyone else to not get distracted by their inappropriate talk.

"But Jiraiya-sama, if you make the heroine's body that curvy, it would be dangerously obvious that you based her on Lady Tsunade!" The boy should be aware too that it was dangerously obvious he forgot to tune down his voice.

"Ah you're too paranoid, boy! That hag is not the only woman with that size. In fact, I've come across several young women with sizes bigger than hers during my previous journeys" One of the reason Jiraiya enjoyed talking with the kid was the invigorating ego boost at the sight of his totally awed expression.

"Seeing how disgusting your behavior right now, I have no doubt that the two of you would be forever stuck in your pathetically lonely life. But here, let me end your miserable existence!" With a glowing fist at the ready, the scary female lady menacingly approached the two perverts.

Everyone else was ready to witnessed a blood bath, that is until the poor Hokage nervously stood between the Sanin and her two potential victims.

"Please Tsunade-sama, spare them! It's very important to me that they're here in my wedding day. They're my family..."Admittedly, he was anxious as hell, but he was the only one there that had a chance to save the two idiots.

And the grown man's puppy dog eyes miraculously saved both his teacher and student's lives as the enraged lady turned away with a huff.

"Look carefully, boy. That's one of Minato's greatest strength. His ridiculously innocent look could even tame the wrath of someone as scary as Tsunade." Jiraiya felt so proud at that moment as he watched his former student carefully guided his grumbling former teammate back to her seat.

"Yeah, Minato-sensei is perfect. He also has such a perfect life with Kushina-nee by his side. Jiraiya-sama, don't you think what Lady Tsunade said earlier felt somewhat true? Maybe not for you who had accomplished grand things, but for me..." Kakashi couldn't help but to once again reflect on his failures.

"Minato is indeed very lucky to have Kushina in his life. But don't worry! I've seen you without your mask on before. I also still remember how your father and mother looked. They were ones of the most beautiful persons I've ever known. I'm sure you'll grow up to be as attractive as them and will have a much better luck than me in relationships." He grinned widely to cheer up the boy, but his sharp instinct could tell that he was still hiding a deeper problem.

"But in the life of Shinobi, I suppose it is wiser to give up on the things that could make us vulnerable such as love if it seemed to end up nowhere. Don't you think so?" He felt that Jiraiya could always give him the right perspective every time he had a personal problem.

"Sooner or later, you've got to tell me who your mysterious lady is, boy. _(Sigh)_ Okay, now listen to me. One of the most important lessons I've learned in life is to never betray your heart, Kakashi. Regardless the odds, if you follow your heart, if you fight for what it says is right, there will be no regret. And at the end of your days, no matter how it would turn out, as you gaze at the sunset, you would know that you have live your life at its fullest." Deep down though, the man had to admit to himself that he hadn't practiced his own lesson that well… far from it actually.

"But, if that is true… why don't you keep trying to win Lady Tsunade, Jiraiya-sama?" To be honest, he was really grateful of the older man's lesson and quite determined to practice it someday.

"Bah! Who said I've ever fancied that old hag?! Listen, boy. All these years, I have truly experienced the ultimate pleasures in life with far hotter and definitely far younger women than her!" Alas not only the conversation began to turn stupid again, he also once again forgot to keep his voice down.

"That's hard to believe, Jiraiya-sama. To me Lady Tsunade's figure is like the pinnacle of perfection, just like the ones that only appear in my wildest fantasy." Kakashi was very young, but it was still ridiculous how a professional ninja like him failed to notice that said lady was once again approaching menacingly.

Even the Hokage couldn't do anything anymore to excuse their stupid behavior.

" _ _(Sigh)_ _ Go ahead Tsunade-sama, do what you please with them. At least, I still have their photos if someday I missed them." The young man also didn't wish to anger his fuming bride further by delaying the ceremony.

"MINATO, YOU TRAITOR!" That was the last thing that could be heard from the legendary toad sage as he along with his number one fan were being dragged roughly by the enraged lady to their doom.

* * *

Months passed by quickly in Konohagakure, and thankfully everything had been going relatively well. Even Lady Tsunade's two 'victims' surprisingly managed to survive her wrath, but not without numerous broken bones and plenty more other injuries. Jiraiya had left the village to do another of his research as soon as he recovered. As for Kakashi, he didn't forget the main objective of his temporary return. Thanks to his ANBU membership, he had a good enough excuse to move freely in the shadows. As results, with cunning and patient, not only he had learned most of Konoha's top secrets, he also had been gaining remarkable trusts and influences with clan leaders and other political figures. None of them had ever suspected him as anything beyond just a reliable young Shinobi who often times offered them good advice and assistants.

The plan indeed had been going well so far, but there were still other important things Kakashi had to do in his busy schedule. One of them was of course his training. This one was quite tricky since he had to be extra cautious to not let anyone find out about the Rinnegan. Most of his serious training so far had been done only during solo missions far away from the village. The training itself was difficult even for a genius like him, and the few basic pointers he already got from Zetsu didn't help that much. Unlike in the past though, he had finally found a clear purpose in life that gave him the motivation to master up to advanced level techniques of the legendary Dojutsu. His hard training also had resulted in the rapid growth of both his physical strength and chakra level. Once he deemed that he had made a good enough progress, he usually spent his free time to train his precious teammate.

It was one of those mornings when the two friends trained together at the most secluded training ground.

"And that's… how you perform Chidori. Well done, Rin! Sorry though, I couldn't find you a nicer gift for your promotion than just a jutsu." A proud smile formed under the boy's mask as he watched the girl's outstretched arm that was still faintly sparkling with blue lightning chakra.

"Thank you, Kakashi! I couldn't ask for a better gift. Wow... I still can't believe I really did it. I've never even thought that I might have a good enough lightning affinity." It seemed like her childhood wish to be able to stand on her own and not to depend on others to save her could become reality after all.

"Remember, this technique is very dangerous, something that I didn't even realize the first time I discovered it. So promise me, Rin. You will only use it if you're completely sure of your surrounding or… as a last resort." Though he really wished there would never come a time when she was forced to use it that way.

"I understand. I know that even you need the Sharingan to perform it safely. By the way, I noticed you never use that eye during our training... or even show it at all, now that I think about it." Once again, she couldn't help being worried that he still felt guilty over Obito's 'death'.

"Ah, it's just that... you know, I'm trying to not be too dependent on it. That is all. You don't need to worry." Truthfully, he was aware that others had been curious about it too, but Rin was the only one who dared to ask.

"Well, I guess it works. You have become very strong, Kakashi. If not for your support and help with my training, I wouldn't have managed to become a Jounin like you now. And speaking of my promotion, you really can't join us for a small gathering this evening to celebrate it?" She knew his ANBU career had made him very busy, but she still wished things could be like the old days when they spent most of their times together with their team.

"Once again I'm sorry, Rin. Classified missions have no mercy at all." Actually, the required time for him to leave for the mission was an hour after the planned gathering started, but unfortunately he also happened to have a scheduled meeting with a certain idiot that evening.

"It's okay. Just... please be careful. I'll see you again once you come back. I need to see Kushina-nee now. Later, Kakashi!" As she walked away from the training ground, somehow she had a feeling that things would turn horribly soon.

"Good bye, Rin… I am sorry." He could only whisper his farewell, because he knew that after he coordinated the next move with Obito, he would soon cross the point of no return.

* * *

Before he left his small apartment for the last time, Kakashi observed his reflection on his headband that he hadn't worn in a long time. In a sense, he felt that he had lost the right to wear it the moment he lost his loyalty to Konoha. The figure he saw there on the reflection was a hardened or maybe a bit evil version of Kakashi Hatake most people knew. He let out a light chuckle as he realized that unknowingly, he had been following Obito's advice to let his hair down. His excuse was of course because his bangs could be such of convenient tool to cover his left eye. The idiot might be right though, since he had noticed the good increase of women paying more attention to him. He suspected that even Lady Tsunade found his look appealing too, considering that she didn't harm his head at all when she beat him up months ago. For a second, he considered thanking his friend later as he putted the headband away and took his leave.

He discarded the thought once he noticed the idiot ogling a certain someone inside the cafe across the street from the building they were standing on top of.

"Hey, Bakashi. You're late! Your mean lady said hi, by the way." Obito took a side glance for a second toward his friend to see his reaction, and he grinned as he saw the lovesick boy blushed slightly.

"Late? That's definitely something coming from you. Anyway, Rin has progressed a lot, Obito. She's bound to notice sooner or later if you keep ogling at her like that, you know. Unless your genjutsu could completely conceal our presence here?" He only raised an eyebrow at his friend who still couldn't tear his gaze away from the view of their female teammate celebrating with the others.

"Absolutely. Oh god, Rin is really there... And she… she looks so pretty…" The boy really deserved some credit for being able to remain rational even when his heart screamed for him to come to her and hold her tightly.

"Agreed. Totally hot too. Seeing how well her figure has been developing so far, Jiraiya-sama even dared to claim that she has the potential to one day rival Lady Tsunade." It was true though, lately he had to threaten plenty of losers with death sentence for daring to look at her inappropriately.

"What the fuck?! Seriously? Oh well, I guess I can't blame him. You must be blind or maybe gay if you're not aware of how attractive she is. __(Sigh)_ _ Now, I can't help but to wonder if she already has a boyfriend..." He knew he was just being silly, but the thought of his beloved Rin with someone else just hurt.

"Now that you mention it… I heard she's been going out with Gai lately." Well, he really couldn't pass off the opportunity to mess up with his friend after not seeing each other for months.

"What the hell is WRONG with this world?! How could you let your taste drop so low, Rin?" He then glared at the source of his anger. "And you! Take this, you green blob of poop!" In an instant, the Mangenkyo Sharingan was activated to punish the poor soul.

And the victims of the brief appearance of Amaterasu were none other than the Green Beast's glorious eyebrows.

" _(GASP!)_ MY TWIN SYMBOLS OF YOUTH?!" Maito Gai's booming cry shook the whole Konoha as he mourned over his tragic loss.

"Look! They're getting lovey-dovey now!" As he had already suspected, the overly caring Rin quickly reached over her friend's face to inspect for any injury.

"That's it! Just forget about the plan, Kakashi! I'll burn this blasted village to the ground now!" If she was actually going out with someone near Kakashi's level of coolness, Obito wouldn't have been this mad, but this… this was like a nightmare.

"Whoa easy there, buddy! You should know better, seriously. Rin has been too busy with her work and study to even bother dating anyone, let alone Gai." He really didn't expected that the thought of Rin being with other could drive his friend so mad.

"You were just messing up with me then?! You bastard! Let's see how you'd react if I told you your blue haired lady is having an affair with a random dude!" Honestly though, even Obito himself was a hundred percent sure that scenario was absolutely impossible.

"I'd be glad for her... as long as she could smile again." Of course it would've hurt, but his statement was completely genuine.

"Damn… You got it bad, buddy. I shudder to think what the road ahead of you might be like." At this rate, it seemed like his goal to give his friend happiness would be so hard to realize.

"Whatever. Enough with the nonsense. I still have a stupid mission to complete after this. Now listen. I've got to say that Konoha is definitely too strong, and at this rate, they could potentially be the hard counter to our plan if we don't interfere soon." In his calculation, by the time the Akatsuki managed to recruit all potential members, Konoha would've already become a titanic force.

"Wait a sec. The last time we had a contact, you sounded so sure of your progress here. You even mock me for being slow in dealing with Iwa!" Though he had to admit that he had been kind of slacking off every time Rin came to his mind.

"That's why I can be so sure of my conclusion right now. Just listen. They obviously have powers, more than enough to crush anyone. And they have loyalty, no matter how twisted the sense of loyalty of some of them. But they also have ideals, various strict ideals that often clash with each other. We're going to exploit that. I've set it up so by the time we make our move, their radical factions such as Danzo or Orochimaru will be more interested in gaining stronger footing and furthering their ambitions, instead of working together with the main faction." Somehow he found it ironic that Konoha who always promoted teamwork was actually really lacking in that subject.

"So, I guess you already have a plan at the ready?" Once again Obito reminded himself how crucial his decision to recruit Kakashi was, because he doubted he could go far without his friend's unparalleled perception.

"I believe you're already aware that Konoha possess the strongest Biju, Kyubi as their trump card in every war. It would be a fatal blow to them if not only the Kyubi is no longer under their control, but also being turned against them. And with the help of your fully evolved Sharingan, I'm sure we'll have no problem to manipulate the beast." He knew in history, Madara Uchiha was the only one who had managed to accomplish that feat, but he had no doubt on his friend's capability, not even one bit.

"Wait, Kakashi… You know that Kyubi's Jinchuriki is Kushina-nee, right? Do you also know the risk of extracting a Biju from its host?" To be honest, he was somewhat afraid that he had accidentally turned his friend into a cold killing machine.

"You don't know how much I hate myself for even considering this plan, Obito. On the other hand, I've also learned how hard the life of a Jinchuriki is. For years, I've observed Kushina-nee closely enough to notice that under her cheery persona, she's hiding a deep sadness that could only be caused by the burden as a Jinchuriki. There's no room for failure this time, Obito. We're going to save her from her unjust fate." Knowing how strong her life force was, he believed she would be able to get through this safely.

"I get what you're feeling. Still, there is a problem, Kakashi. I'm not sure with my current skill I could deal with a seal of that level." After all, he had just begun to learn about fuinjutsu recently.

"Now, you might consider me as the most twisted person for planning it, but let's hear it. __(Sigh)__ I've told you that she and Minato-sensei are going to have a baby, right? It's been estimated that she will give birth tomorrow, most likely in the evening. And I've learned that during the process, the seal would weaken. That's our opportunity, and it all will depend on you, Obito. I must also warn you that not only Minato-sensei will be there, but among the medics there will also be Rin." He knew the possibility of Obito losing his focus once he finally met Rin could have the potential to turn their plan into a disaster.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm getting myself into. As usual, I will trust your plan, but so far you've only mentioned my part in it. What about yours, Bakashi? Don't tell me you're just going to cozily watch from atop of Hokage monument while reading Icha-Icha!" Yes, his assumption was absolutely ridiculous, but he could never be so sure dealing with his lazy buddy.

"Hmm interesting, I might consider doing that. Yeah, right. Don't be silly. You're correct that I'm going to watch over how it would turn out from there. Though, it would be impossible for me to not break a sweat. It will be my responsibility to prevent anyone from interfering with your work, especially the Sandaime." This one also had the potential to ruin their plan if he made even a single wrong move in dealing with the Third.

"You sure, Kakashi? Yeah, he is old and all, but he is still the man who has been called the God of Shinobi." He would admit that his friend was a prodigy with a brain that matched his talent, but would it be enough?

"Being the absolute underdog, it'd be interesting, don't you think? Well, I'm positive my preparation should be effective enough to bring him down, at least temporarily." Honestly, he had been waiting for a chance to test his progress against a high level Shinobi, but it had never crossed his mind until recently that it would be with the legendary Sandaime Hokage.


	5. Chapter 5

**Whew, it has been so long. And now that I've regained my interest in Naruto series, I present you with a new chapter. I've also made many adjustments for the previous chapters, but they're mostly minor ones, just the details and dialogues. It's not necessary to read them again, but it wouldn't hurt to check them out if you also wish to refresh your memory about this story. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

The invasion had been going relatively well so far, so he should stop being so nervous. Thanks to his new ruthless persona, he had managed to go this far without making any single mistake. All the guards and medics had been knocked out, including his beloved Rin. He tried to not think of her shocked face just before he made her unconscious with a genjutsu. He tried to forget that he had threaten to kill the newborn child whom he would've considered as his own nephew if only they live in a better world. And he tried to convinced himself once again that it was all for the greater good when he remembered Kushina-nee's unconscious but still very much alive form after he released the Kyubi. Minato-sensei had come to take her to where he had moved their child to, and he let him. If Obito wished to see this operation succeeded, he had to cast away every single doubt, and keep playing his part as Tobi.

The nine-tailed demon fox, under his control, was wrecking havoc in the hidden leaf village, just as planned. He could sense somewhere his friend was fighting hard to hold back anyone who might possibly interfere. There was no doubt between the two of them and they each would play their own part. He had his own problem to deal with as he spotted the Yondaime about to join the battlefield. Aware of the threat the man might posses, he quickly tried to teleported him away, but he managed to escape. He had no choice but to pursue him, because the sooner he incapacitate him, the higher the chance of success of this operation would become. As for his own chance to win against his former sensei, he tried not to think too much about it. All he knew was that Kakashi still gave his all in this battle, and he would rather die than to be outclassed by him.

He soon caught up to his target, and they finally began their fight. The Hiraishin no Jutsu proved to be absolutely dangerous, even though he had witnessed his former sensei using it plenty of time in the past. If not for his Kamui, he would've lost quicker than he would like to admit. Multiple times already, the older man had been close to hit him with his Rasengan. He was aware that if he got hit even once, his chance of winning would be reduced to almost zero. And at this rate, he would be hit eventually if he didn't do something drastic. For a second, he considered using Amaterasu, but he decided not to, because it was too lethal and could possibly kill Minato if he wasn't careful. With a Susanoo, he would definitely dominate this fight, but to his shame, he was still not capable to summon one as of yet. His best chance was to use Tsukuyomi, but he had to find a way to make his opponent look at his eyes first.

The solution to his problem was actually simple, he realized soon later. He just needed to engage the Hokage in an 'interesting' conversation.

"I know you hate me for threatening the lives of your wife and child... for almost ruining your happiness." A smirk formed behind his mask as he saw the man stopped his lightning fast movement and turned to face him properly.

"Isn't it obvious? I may be a Hokage now, but I will always be just a human. I can't help it. My family, my friends, my people... They all deserve the happiness that you try to take away." Minato wanted to look into the mysterious man's eyes to show him his hatred, but somehow he just couldn't bring himself to do it, somehow he wasn't even sure that what he felt was a real hatred.

"And who are you to decide they're the ones who deserve happiness? This world is larger than you might think. And I guarantee you that beyond this village, there are many many people who don't even know what happiness is. So, perhaps I am here to reprimand you all to stop being close-minded, to open your eyes and show you how unfairly cruel this wretched world is." He waited patiently until at last the man's shocked face turned completely toward him as he finally attempted to catch his eyes.

The Tsukuyomi worked flawlessly as soon as their eyes locked. Their consciousness were instantly transported into the eerie illusionary dimension that was completely under the Uchiha's control. In there, the Hokage was being chained tightly to the ground with the masked man standing nearby to watch him. A moment later, scene after scene of suffering that could only happen in the real world were played around them. Tobi watched every scene with an unshakable resolve, but the same couldn't be said for the man who used to be his sensei. Minato was smart enough to tell that it was only some sort of genjutsu, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his tears from falling freely. It was clear that he would be broken eventually the longer he stayed helplessly in this nightmarish world. He could only wish that someone would come to stop this nightmare, because he still had a lot to protect.

Suddenly there was the sound of a thousand chirping birds. The Yondaime was completely unaware of it, and the Uchiha noticed it too late until he was forced to release his Tsukuyomi. The attack had come from his right, and it destroyed his right arm and crushed that side of his torso. He was so familiar with this highly offensive technique, but as far as he knew, there was only one person who could perform it. That person was his only friend... and he would never betray him, right? In a numb state of mind, he turned his head to his right, expecting to see unruly silver hair. Then imagine how shocked he was once his eyes caught the sight of a warm brown hair framing such a lovely face. Tears began to fall from his crimson eyes without him even realizing it. It all just happened too fast and somehow everything had seemed like a blur even to his Mangenkyo Sharingan eyes.

"Minato-sensei! This is your chance!" The girl had been so worried about her sensei, but she had to shake some sense into him before it was too late.

"Thank you, Rin!" Not wasting any time, the Hokage created another Rasengan and drove it right into the masked man's chest.

* * *

Absolutely outclassed. That was the most fitting words to describe him in his fight against the Sandaime Hokage. At approximately seventy percent of his power that he had left after triggering various traps, the old man was still superior than him in every aspect of combat. The only reason he could still hold his ground this far was his clever usage of the Rinnegan's Preta Path that protected him from the Sandaime's powerful Ninjutsu. Other than that, he mostly relied on cunning and surprises that proved rather effective to exploit his opponent's only weakness that came from old age. He also came to really consider Hiruzen Sarutobi as the very epitome of professional ninja, because he had not even once hesitated in this fight since it started. It seemed like the old man had completely force his mind to accept Kakashi Hatake's treason the moment the boy attacked him.

Despite his unfavorable situation, Kakashi still had not lost his resolve to win this fight. And honestly, this was not that different than what he had already calculated since before the fight. He had thought far ahead. Everything up to this point was just his attempt to wear the old man down till he couldn't maintain his situational awareness and be forced to rely on his muscle memory to execute his moves. It would not make him less powerful, but at least his moves would be more predictable. All Kakashi had left to do was to pretend to be desperate, so his opponent would unconsciously think that the outcome was already decided. It wouldn't be that hard, since so far he had been slowly but surely losing. Steeling his resolve one more time to endure the pain, he let himself be sent crashing into a wall by the Sandaime's powerful palm strike to his chest.

"I deeply regret that it has to end like this, young Kakashi. Nevertheless, no one else but me shall bear the grief of striking down a child of Konoha." The old man watched in sadness as the boy sluggishly stood back up again before charging up his signature jutsu for what might be the last time.

The bright electricity of the Raikiri illuminated the dark night as its wielder rapidly rushed head on toward his opponent. He was prepared for this because he had learned the old man's attack and defense pattern. His right hand that held the lightning cutter ended up being parried upward, retaliated immediately with a strong knee strike to his gut. But that was exactly just as he had predicted. Resembling a cornered animal, he grabbed the offending foot tightly with his free hand to lock the both of them in place. And to finish this very tough fight, he absorbed the highly destructive lightning of his jutsu into his body, overloading his chakra system up to an extreme level. A large electrical explosion followed shortly at the location where the Sandaime Hokage had been fighting an ANBU traitor. It seemed clear that the boy had lost his sanity to resort to a never heard before 'self-destruct' move in order to take the old man down with him.

He survived, miraculously. It was only thanks to his natural lightning affinity, and his control over the Rinnegan's Human Path that let him forcefully prevent his soul from leaving his badly damaged body. Unfortunately, his opponent didn't posses those advantages.

"It has been my honor, Sandaime-sama. Thank you for the great fight. I'm sorry that two of your former students are away from the village, and the other one couldn't care less about it." He still took the effort to gave the barely conscious old man a deep bow, even though he himself could barely stand.

"Don't be so sure, brat!" The familiar feminine voice was quickly followed with a chakra-induced punch to the boy's gut, sending him skidding roughly through the hard pavement like a broken doll.

Without giving the traitor a second glance, Tsunade immediately focused her attention in trying to save her former sensei's life. She didn't even bother to acknowledge her former teammate who had came with her as he touched her shoulder.

"Calm down, Tsunade. Didn't you see that the boy has become barely more than a living corpse?" He winced as he took a glance at the boy's battered form laying on the ground hundred meters away.

"Just put him out of his misery, Jiraiya. He is an elite ANBU operative. There's no point in trying to interrogate him or read his mind." She knew from experience that professional black ops members would sooner commit suicide if somehow the Yamanakas manged to get through their mind.

" _(Sigh)_ I know. He has crossed the point of no return. It can't be helped. But let me at least give my biggest fan a parting word." As he walked over toward the boy, he inspected his surrounding for the first time since they arrived in a hurry, desperately trying to save their former sensei.

The Kyubi had left or gone somehow, leaving the village in ruins. He supposed Minato had dealt with it. Though as he finally stood over the boy, he found it was tragically ironic that his former student's favorite student was most likely responsible for this chaos.

"Forgive me, Minato, Sakumo. _(Sigh)_ I really hate to do this, boy. You have been my number one fan. Don't worry, I promise I will make you the main character for the next installments of the novels you love so much." He couldn't help but to smile sadly as he watched the boy let out a barely audible chuckle.

* * *

He was Tobi, the ruthless Tobi. That was what he had been trying to convince himself again and again to regain some control over his emotions. Previously, he had managed to escape with Kamui that teleported him into its dimension. It wouldn't have happened if his cruel side persona didn't snapped himself back into reality in time. He had no choice but to stay in there until he was done fixing his badly wounded and incapacitated body. His complete shock at seeing Rin attacking him had involuntary caused him to lose his influence over the Kyubi. How could he had known that his sweet Rin could perform the Chidori? Damn, he needed to stop thinking of her for a second if he still wished to salvage this operation. His best friend was still out there fighting, but he could do nothing but observe the situation in Konoha from this dimension.

Through the small hole that he had been using to show him the world outside, he could see Minato-sensei trying to deal with the Kyubi. He had teleported the beast away from the village and surprisingly to the place where his family hide. Rin was already present there and she had been treating Kushina-nee as best as she could. Obito could then see her desperately trying to persuade the couple to not go with their plan, but it was for naught. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's resolve to save Konoha by sealing the Kyubi into their child couldn't be changed. And the poor girl could only sob silently as she watched the event unfolded. In the end, she was left with the lifeless bodies of the two heroes who she had long considered as her own older brother and sister. Obito felt his own tears running down his cheeks as he watched her cradling the crying baby tightly in her arms.

He didn't know what to think. It was not supposed to be this way at all. Their plan was just to weaken Konoha's exceptionally powerful presence in the ninja world. They had planed to take the Kyubi away once it had done enough damage, and leave the village alone. And the Yondaime was supposed to survive this, so he could lead his village in its recovery, with his wife and child by his side. And Rin... she should've been sleeping peacefully until the chaos was over, instead of sobbing silently in the middle of nowhere. Why did this world always turn something good, something that should be good, into tragic things that should've stayed only in nightmares? He admitted the responsibility of this tragedy also lied on him, but he absolutely could not accept the unfairness of it. Surely Kakashi, wherever he was at that moment, never wished for it to end this way.

Kakashi... Yes, he needed to find his best friend, so they could help each other to rise again from the depth of this despair. After pushing himself to ignore his own terrible condition, he finally located him.

The younger boy was in a much worse condition than him, and he was about to be executed by the very man he so admired. As he saw the Big Ball Rasengan in the Sanin's hand, Obito lost himself to his rage that instinctively manifested into a towering chakra avatar.

"Stop right there! Or I will raze this whole village into dust." The Uchiha menacingly moved forward with his fiery skeletal Susanoo following his every step.

"Whoa, easy there! That thing looks awfully dangerous." Jiraiya nervously backed away, because even though he was confident with his own strength, he still didn't think it was wise to try his luck against this mysterious masked figure.

"You'd better leave before I lose my patience." As to prove his point, his Susanoo evolved into its humanoid form.

"Alright alright, but may I know who you are? And why do you try to save Kakashi-chan here?" He had already suspected that Kakashi didn't work alone, but it was hard to believe that the other actor was an Uchiha.

"You may call me Tobi, and he is my brother. Now leave!" With another burst of his anger, layer after layer of thick armor began to form around the Susanoo.

The Sanin wisely retreated without another word. And from a distance, he could see the two figures along with the gigantic avatar being absorbed into a mysterious spiraling void that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

* * *

Konoha that used to be unquestionably considered as the strongest force in the ninja world by a long shot had been reduced into a miserable hidden village in the span of one night. The Yondaime Hokage and his wife had sacrificed their life to protect their home. And the Sandaime who had been left in a coma passed away in the next day. The Sanin Tsunade who was famous for her medical ability couldn't save her former sensei's life in the end. The village was left without leadership at the time when it needed one the most. They needed a new Hokage as soon as possible before the other hidden villages noticed their sorry state and decided to attack. The majority had agreed to appoint Tsunade herself as the Godaime Hokage, and she begrudgingly accepted it. Though it was only because if she refused, her village's fate would be left in Orochimaru's hand. Konoha had suffered enough already.

Several days later, after the two Kages and the rest of the fallen had been given proper funerals, they had begun their recovery. It was time to stand together and move on with their lives.

For hours, the new Hokage was having a private discussion in her office with her trusted subjects and the others influential figures that unfortunately included the likes of Danzo and Orochimaru.

"How could you only manage to obtain the invader's vague name even after confronting him directly, Jiraiya?! You're absolutely useless, you know that?!" Her hand was itching for something to smash, but unfortunately her working desk had been reduced into splinters already.

"Hey, I also told you he was an Uchiha! One who was powerful enough to create a Susanoo, just like the legendary Madara himself. He must've been the one who controlled the Kyubi." The man inwardly cursed his former teammate because she didn't even show him any gratitude for coming to this boring meeting.

The snake Sanin chuckled creepily as he watched his 'dear friends' arguing for the eighth time so far in this meeting.

"Now now, there's no need to be angry. I'm sure you're already familiar with how useless he is since we were children, _Godaime-sama_." Orochimaru himself had not contributed anything useful, since he only came here for his own amusement.

Danzo on the other hand only cared about the Uchiha's involvement in this matter, and he had began to consider to cull the clan if necessary.

"Then for precaution purpose, I suggest we dispatch our best ANBU to watch over the Uchiha clan until we find another lead." He was pleased when no one argued with his idea for once, and decided to just stay back for the rest of the meeting.

"Speaking of ANBU, I heard the traitor who worked with this masked man was the ANBU prodigy Hatake Kakashi." Koharu turned her pointed gaze toward the youngest person in the room. "As her teammate, do you have anything to say about this matter, Nohara Rin?" She couldn't help but to be suspicious toward the young Jounin since the girl had mysteriously come back from the dead several months ago.

However, the Hokage couldn't stand watching the poor girl who had been standing silently in the corner being cornered like that.

"I have already talked with her personally. She's innocent. Besides, if not for Rin's brave actions, we would've lost much more than we already have." She spared the sad girl a small smile to encourage her and show her some more appreciation.

"Regardless how talented he was, it's still hard to believe that the young Hatake actually managed to take down Hiruzen." As the Sandaime's former teammate and childhood friend, Homura Mitokado knew him better than almost anyone.

"Well, all I know is the kid used some kind of self-destruct technique to bring the old man down with him. I swear, he's too cunning for his own good." Jiraiya briefly recalled the thunderous explosion that he saw before he found his fallen sensei.

" _(Sigh)_ That brat. I thought it was bad enough that he had become a mini Jiraiya. Just what was he thinking? He was supposed to protect his sensei along with his family." Tsunade would never admit it, but she was actually hurt by his treason much more than she cared to imagine.

"Speaking of the Yondaime's family, what are we going to do with his Jinchuriki child?" Even someone as stern as Koharu Utatane couldn't believe that the man had the heart to do such a horrific thing to his own child.

Everyone was surprised when suddenly the girl who had been silent so far stepped forward with resolve clear in her eyes.

"Please allow me to take him in, Hokage-sama." She gazed pleadingly at the woman's eyes before bowing deeply to her.

"I'm sorry, Rin. I'm afraid I already have a plan for you. You performed exceptionally well during the chaos, having contributed much more than anyone in this room. I believe it would be for the best if you are given the chance to be in a position that allow you to work on the more crucial matters. So, I have decided to appoint you as my personal ANBU agent who will only answer to me directly. To put it simply, I offer you to be my right hand. Please, Konoha really needs the contributions from someone like you if we wish to recover." She was also seriously considering to take the young girl as her apprentice.

Jiraiya placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, and decided to take the matter in his own hand when he saw her heartbroken face.

"Don't be so heartless, Tsunade! There are still plenty enough ANBU left. Don't you think Rin-chan has lost too much already? For god's sake, she has even lost her life once before!" He was sure if such a sweet girl joined the black ops, she would break in her very first mission.

"I will do anything for Konoha, Hokage-sama. But please, forgive me. Naruto is the only family I have left in this world. I need him as much as he needs me. I'm afraid I would give out sooner or later without him." Rin had already considered the baby as her own nephew even before he was born.

" _(Sigh)_ I understand. Let's make a compromise then. I'm going to assign someone capable to help you in raising him if you accept your new position." Honestly, as she thought more about it, this was really the best middle ground for this problem.

"Thank you very much, Tsunade-sama! I would love to accept your offer." At last, the girl could see a sliver of light again beyond this unforgiving darkness.

* * *

 **I think it's** ** **obvious** already that I'm planning to make Rin take Kakashi's role in the series. That means she would eventually become the Jounin sensei for Team 7. She needs to be stronger and will become stronger, but I will not make her OP.**


	6. Chapter 6

As he realized that he had been lost in thoughts longer than he liked to admit, he found himself staring at his new right arm. He could barely remember how Zetsu fixed the destroyed part of his body and once again built him a new arm. All that mattered to him was that this new appendage had been proven to be far superior than the previous one. He had briefly tested it earlier before to find out that not only it was vastly more durable, it could also turn into a monstrous clawed hand whenever required. And to his satisfaction, the white appendage really lived up to its intimidating appearance, since even the hardest of metal could not withstand its tremendous strength. With this, he was confident that his close combat capacity, the one sector he had been lacking, had improved tremendously. If only he already possessed it when they invaded Konoha last week, things wouldn't end up so messed up.

Still, it was a good thing that they had at least managed to retreat back to their new base in Amegakure. Their relief was short lived though as they discovered how terribly damaged Kakashi's body was. The boy had been unconscious since then, and Obito himself had barely left his side after both of their injuries had been treated. As for their host, there was something amusing about the blue-haired lady's behavior since their return. Perhaps she thought that she had been doing a good job in appearing indifferent as usual, but it seemed like she had been trying too hard. For some reason, she always came up with overly creative excuses to visit the recovery room frequently, but not even once had she asked about Kakashi's condition. And this time, she had come with a rather thick book in her hand before silently taking a seat near the window. Her excuse was the lighting there made it the most pleasant place to read during the day.

The silence in the room was broken when they suddenly heard a subtle groan coming from the resting boy.

"Heh, took you long enough, buddy. Now lemme rub it in your face that once again I've saved your prodigal ass!" With a wide grin on his unmasked face, Obito quickly helped his friend who was trying get up.

"Do what you want, you idiot. But first, tell me what happened. I can see we are back in Ame. So, we did succeed in the end, didn't we?" But dread began to consume his mind as he saw the other boy hesitated for a moment, his stupid grin gone.

"I messed up, Kakashi. It was a miracle that I still had enough strength to get the two of us out of there. I made an error that left me no choice but to take a temporary retreat. And in my absence... Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee sacrificed their lives to seal the Kyubi inside their newborn child." Then as what he had expected, he could already see the usual self blame began to consume his friend.

"This is not right... Clearly, the world would be left in an even worse state without amazing persons such as them. They cannot die. Forgive me, Obito. I can't accept this. I just can't... Gedo - Rinne Tensei- _Ouch!_ " His reckless attempt of performing the resurrection technique was interrupted by a hardcover book that 'came out of nowhere' and hit him right on the face.

Obito who was in a sudden and extreme panic just a second before, could only sweat-dropped at this totally unexpected turn of event.

"Hey lady, I really appreciate your quick help in stopping this bastard. But would it have hurt you to be a bit more gentle?" He winced as he looked at his poor buddy who was helplessly trying to remain conscious.

But the lady was obviously far too busy sneering at the pitiful boy to care in the slightest about being gentle.

"Grow up, will you? Do you know how pathetic it is to cry about what is already done? I honestly begin to regret allowing you to possess that eye. Maybe it really is better for you to just die already if you couldn't even learn to live on with your sins and guilt." Having said enough, she hurriedly left the room without even bothering to take her book back.

"Dude, your skill with ladies seriously hasn't improved one bit. You know, she's right though, Kakashi. What's done is done. It's unreasonable to always rely on a 'rewind button' each time we make a mistake. And your life is far more important than you ever think. We're in this together, remember?" He would never admit it to anyone, but he was actually terrified of what kind of demon he might become without his best friend's presence.

"You're right, the two of you. We can't let our emotions get in the way. We can't afford to fall back again and again just because of our own incompetence. I really need to get my shits together." Silently, he promised himself that this would be the last time he resorted to pointless self blaming.

"Glad to hear that. Now if you think you can walk already, go find your lady and apologize to her. As amusing as it is to see you being abused by her, we can't let this domestic violence hindrance your recovery." Though he got the feeling that his poor buddy could never really be safe from the abusive relationship.

"I know. Also, we can't let it demolish whatever I have left of my man-pride if I wish to be taken seriously in the future." Even though at that moment he felt rather determined, he honestly wasn't sure he could make it last until he finished speaking with her.

* * *

After hours of searching his so-called lady without result, he decided to just get back to the recovery room. It wouldn't surprise him if she had returned to her childhood abode just outside Ame. Honestly, he wasn't quite ready to speak privately with her anyway, even just to apologize. He simply didn't know what to do with her. One thing for certain, he considered her as his strength, because she was always ready to slap some sense into him whenever he was foolish enough to be consumed by his weakness. Though he couldn't help feeling that her mean and abusive behavior couldn't be healthy for him, both physically and mentally. In a sense, she was like an unstable source of power that had the potential to destroy him if he wasn't careful with it. For the time being, it might be wise to keep a distance from her, at least until he recovered completely.

As he stepped into the room, he found his best friend already waiting for him there with a rather serious air around him.

"You don't look worse than when you left. I assume you haven't found her then. Too bad, but I guess it's time to talk about the other important matter." He allowed the other boy to take a seat first before he spoke further.

"It's about my condition, isn't it? I know it, Obito. My body is degenerating, and my control over the Rinnegan's Human Path is the only reason I haven't passed away already." The subtle appearance of unnatural cracks on his already deathly pale skin was a good enough proof for him.

"Correct, as always. I have no clue what kind of insane stunt you pulled to kill the old man, but it has costed you a lot. You're now beyond dying, Kakashi. The eye only prevents your soul from leaving your body, but it cannot save you if that body keeps degenerating. To make it worse, there doesn't seem to be any way to make you 'alive' again. Heck, even Zetsu had to resort on a method that more resemble repairing broken tools to finally fix your injuries." He knew he would rather die than to give up on his brother-by-soul, but to his frustration he was not smart enough to find the solution.

The two couldn't find anything to say and just let the silence consume them for a long frustrating moment until the younger one let out a mirthless chuckle.

"At this point, I might as well embrace the death or... try to become the death itself." It was hard to tell if he was being serious or just trying to mess up with his friend at this far from appropriate moment.

"That better not be a joke. You know I'm not that smart, buddy. So, why don't you stop trying to be cool for once, and explain what you mean plainly?" It was driving him crazy that after all this time, he still had trouble reading the bastard's always vague thinking.

"The Shinigami. They're the only beings that can exist just fine and dandy - I mean scary - despite being dead, the embodiment of death itself. Perhaps we could summon one of them to ask their secret. And if that failed - most likely failed - we could try to steal it." He meant to be considerate of his less intelligent friend here by trying to explain it as casually as possible.

"You know, Bakashi. Seeing how already hopeless your condition is, maybe I wouldn't feel that much remorse if I beat you up. We have nothing to lose here." He always had a dark fantasy to beat up the cocky bastard into a pulp, and if he didn't get a direct explanation he might as well make it reality at last.

"Whoa, we got a badass over here. Seriously though, we're getting there. To gain the Shinigami's secret or power - whatever you want to call it - the simplest way is by sealing the entity inside our body. You see, just like how they create a Jinchuriki, but this time we deal with a Shinigami instead of a Biju." He began to feel nervous then as he saw how the irritated Uchiha looked to be still ready to beat him up.

"Don't tell me your brain has also started to degenerate. Listen here, bastard. We human know nothing about the Shinigami beyond that one forbidden jutsu to call them. I wouldn't be surprised if they're actually even more dangerous than Biju. Heck, even a Kage-level shinobi needs to offer their life in exchange of just a single help from them." He could still remember the shiver that ran down his spine as he watched his former sensei sacrificing his life to the entity.

"They seem kind of mindless though, more like a force of nature than a conscious being. I don't think it would be that much a problem. I will summon it with the jutsu, and once it got distracted, you seal it within my kind of dead body. And done. _(Sigh)_ Sorry, if I seem kinda crazy to you, but I think a risky chance to avoid death is still better than a slow but sure death." Not that he was afraid of death, he just understood that he was more useful being alive than dead.

" _(Sigh)_ Fine, but how do we learn about the techniques?" As far as he knew, even the old man Madara never kept anything related to them.

"There is a good chance that our late sensei might've kept both the scrolls for the Shinigami summoning and the sealing technique. We can later alter the seal a bit to make it compatible with a whole different kind of entity." He was quite sure that Minato kept such important scrolls somewhere close to him.

"Back to Konoha again then. It's a bit late, but I might as well spare a time to pay my respect to Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee while I'm there." Having made a decision, he donned his orange mask with black flame patterns before wrapping himself away with Kamui.

* * *

It was still hard to believe that she could feel this content after experiencing such a tragedy that had shaken the whole village. Things had been going better than she ever wished, all thanks to their new Hokage whom she had come to admire so much. Soon following their agreement, she had received the legal custody of her cute baby nephew. Sayuri-san, a kind middle-aged maid had been assigned as her helper and Naruto's nanny a day later. And to her disbelief, the three of them were given the permission to stay in the late Yondaime's personal residence. They just moved in there that morning, and she along with the maid had spent the the rest of the day cleaning up and settling in. Once the night came, after her new family fell asleep, she decided to relax in the living room, reminiscing about the beautiful times when she and the rest of her team often gathered there to spent the evening together.

There was one nagging thing that had been making her feel a bit uneasy for the past hour though. She had been trying to ignore it, but her gut feeling had been telling her that there was another presence somewhere in the house. Meanwhile, her physical senses could not detect anything remotely suspicious. Maybe it was a ghost or something, because surely unauthorized living beings could not enter this residence without triggering the complex security system made by the Yondaime himself. She had already checked every corner of the house, with her late sensei's private study as the only exception, since no one ever dared to step in without permission. In the end though, her concern over her nephew's safety eventually drove her to silently asked for permission before bracing herself to enter the room. What she found there in the shadow as soon as she opened the door made her blood run cold.

Two shuriken flew forward instantly as her instinct took over, but somehow the well aimed sharp projectiles harmlessly passed through the dreadfully familiar figure as if he were really a ghost.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the last time was just a lucky shot. You could never hope to harm me again, not when I'm in complete awareness." He had found the scroll for the sealing technique, but still having a hard time finding the other one, and her intrusion didn't help at all.

"... What do you want here? I swear if you wish to harm my baby, I will so hurt you that you wish I could physically harm you instead. I don't know how, but I wouldn't stop until I could do so." Unknown to her though, she had already hurt him deeply just by showing her cold hostility.

"I'm only here to get the means to save Kakashi Hatake's life. He is still someone dear to you, isn't he?" He was sure that she could never have the heart to hate the boy even after his painful treachery.

"I don't know who you are and what kind of spell you have put on Kakashi to make him betray us. And you expect me to believe your words? Do I need to remind you that barely a week has passed since you ruined our lives?!" She had never hated anyone in her life, but she found it hard to not hate this man.

"What if I tell you that you're indirectly also responsible for what happened? Perhaps if you didn't attack me out of nowhere, I would've just disarmed the poor Hokage and left this village, taking the Kyubi with me." God, he hated how he couldn't stop the ruthless Tobi from taking over when he got cornered like this.

"That cannot be... You're lying! I know you're just playing a mind game with me." Though she couldn't prevent the seed of doubt from appearing in her mind.

"Heh, you're pretty funny. Just so you know, I'm not smart enough to play some sort of mind game. Besides, I much prefer to be straight forward, girl." Damn, he could easily picture how the bastard friend of his would laugh his ass out if he heard this.

"I know compared to you I'm beyond weak, but it doesn't mean you have the right to make fun of me." For some reason, she was suddenly reminded of her deceased dear friend who had been made fun of by others all his life, but always refused to give in till the end.

"Whatever. Just sit over there like a good girl, and I'll be gone sooner than you think." He carelessly pointed over the study desk at the end of the room.

She really had no choice but to comply with his order, and the room was soon engulfed in tense silence that lasted for nearly half an hour.

"Got it. See? Things will go smoothly if you just stay put. Farewell then, funny girl." And he was gone without a trace, bringing with him two important scrolls.

Minutes after the masked man left, her body still refused to make any moves. To put it simply, she felt humiliated and pathetic. Her soft nature was helpless to stop his wicked words from consuming her mind. And the only thing she could do to not break down right then and there was by focusing on her disdain toward the man. She had never met such a foul person before. From the way he talked alone, it was clear that he only saw others as lesser beings, nothing but tools to him. Not to mention how his very presence seemed to constantly emit darkness and despair. She knew it wasn't healthy to think of someone you barely even know this badly, but she couldn't afford to doubt herself any longer. For some reason, she got the feeling that all of these recent occurrences were just a prelude of a looming darkness that someday would threaten to consume this world.

Feeling so tired yet doubtful that she could get any sleep for the rest of the night, she decided to rest her body on her late sensei's comfy chair behind the desk. And instantly, her eyes fell on the lone photograph of team Minato that still stood perfectly on top of the desk. It felt like it had been ages since the photo was taken. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she gazed fondly at the treasured reminder of the happiest days of her life. The four of them looked so good together, so complete. She missed the other three with all her heart, though it was only normal that she missed the boy with orange googles the most, since he was the first one to leave her life. If she had to pick one word to describe him, she would go with hope for sure. Somehow, this made her wonder that maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't have fallen apart this badly if only he were still there.

* * *

At the break of dawn, Rin hurriedly headed to the Godaime's residence, having close to no sleep the night before. The woman had putted her trust in her, and she had absolutely no intention to disappoint her. She figured it would be best to report her personal confrontation with their mysterious enemy in private. There must be a good reason why the new Hokage only trusted very few people in the whole village. That realization made her try to be more subtle with her pace, so as not to draw unwanted suspicion. Thankfully, they didn't live that far from each other, and soon enough she arrived at the Godaime Hokage's front door. The two ANBU stationed there recognized her immediately and allowed her to enter without any question. She only hoped the powerful lady was already awake, because she really didn't wish to witness her wrath.

To her relief, she found the blonde woman already sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hand, and she gave her a deep bow when their eyes met.

"Rin. It'd be nice if you actually come here this early to join me for tea... _(Sigh)_ Alright, what's the matter?" One of the reasons she hated being a Hokage was that people only came to see her for serious matters most of the time.

"Forgive me, Tsunade-sama. This is very important. Last night, I found the mysterious masked man inside the Yondaime's study. Possibly, he managed to avoid anyone's notice and breach the security system by using the unknown space manipulation ability that Jiraiya-sama has mentioned before. I think the same ability is also the reason why physical attacks would just pass through him as if he were a ghost. It was clear that I stood no chance against him, and he could easily escape whenever he wanted, so I decided to just play along and listen to what he said as long as he didn't harm anyone." Inside, she was actually nervous that the Godaime would scorn her for her lack of actual action in the presence of Konoha's most-wanted enemy.

"Relax, girl. You've done the best you possibly could. In fact, I commend you for knowing your limit and being collected enough to be able to figure out the most ideal option in such a difficult situation. Still, do you at least know what he tried to accomplish there?" To be honest, she had never thought that out of the Yondaime's all three students, this girl might be the one to inherit his ninja way.

"He was looking for some scrolls that he believed could save Kakashi's life. Tsunade-sama, I can wholeheartedly say that I hate that masked man, but I don't think he is evil just for the sake of being evil. Unlike typical villains, he doesn't seem to take a pleasure in conquest, violence, or destruction." Perhaps it would not be that wrong to compare him with the darkness itself, an unlikable but necessary part of the world.

"That's an interesting observation. We will take that into consideration. Anyway, the brat managed to survive, huh? Not a bad thing, I suppose." She would never admit it, but for some reason she was genuinely glad that he was still alive.

The two fell silent for a moment, but as she looked at the girl's face, the Hokage could tell that she was still troubled about something.

"The tea is still hot. Why don't you take a seat and join me, Rin? You know, you can tell me anything." She let herself smile in return when the girl politely gave her a pained but still sweet smile as she complied with her request.

"... He told me that back then if I didn't interfere, he would've spared the Yondaime and just left with the Kyubi. I've tried to not trust his words, but still... And now, _(Sob)_ I feel that I'm really responsible for both Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee's deaths." Her tears fell freely, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Listen to me, girl. Regardless of whether that it is true or not, I believe both Minato and Kushina were very grateful for you. They were proud of you. That's the one thing you must keep in mind." She could deeply empathize with her, because she knew very well herself how devastating guilt could be to one's soul.

"I understand. Thank you, Tsunade-sama. All I wish now is to live on, to dedicate my life for their legacy, including Naruto. That's why I need to stop being so pitiful. I will become stronger for their sake." At that moment, it felt like she had finally found something that she'd like to believe as true strength.

"That's good to hear. I know I've already promised to mentor your medical training, but I wouldn't mind teaching you combat too, you know." Inwardly, she really anticipated it because she knew for certain that it would be much more fun than dealing with paperwork.

"That's very gracious of you, Tsunade-sama. But please pardon me, I don't think I am physically strong enough to learn your powerful combat technique. It's okay though, I already have a plan. You see, after the masked man left, I found this scroll about Hiraishin no Jutsu in Minato-sensei's study. And I just think that maybe... I too could try to be his legacy, at least for the one technique that he was famous for." She smiled sheepishly, feeling somewhat unworthy.

"I like what you think, really. Hiraishin is at the top of the difficulty level though. Other than its creator the Nidaime, only the Yondaime had ever managed to master it. Be prepared for a whole lot of frustration, but know that I fully support you, Rin." Yes, she was finally certain that this girl would one day become her dear sensei's proud legacy in the ninja world.


End file.
